When the woman left, she paused at the door. “You saved my life today.”

That night, Mariana walked home through the empty streets. She lived alone in a studio apartment with one chair. She made tea, sat down, and for the first time all day, she listened to herself.

She smiled into her cup.

Finally, he spoke. “I told my son I’d be at his recital. I got drunk instead. He’s seven.”