Pene heard the familiar sound of footsteps behind her, the soft creak of the porch floorboards under the weight of another body. She had been waiting for Chris, her mind already wrapped in the quiet resolution of her decision. But now, as the shadow fell across her path, she didn’t need to look up to know who it was.

Essence.

He stood there, his presence filling the space between them, as solid and imposing as always. She didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge him right away. 

"Are you really doing this?" His voice, strained and raw, hung in the air, thick with disbelief.

Pene finally turned to face him, meeting his eyes with a coolness that belied the storm raging inside her. "Yes, Essence. I am."

He stepped forward, reaching for her hand as if to pull her back, to stop her from walking away. "Pene, please," he whispered, his voice cracking. "I don’t understand. You’re my wife. You can’t just… throw everything away."

She jerked her hand away from him, her eyes flashing. "Everything? What about everything I gave up for you, Essence? How long do I have to sacrifice myself for your needs, your wants?" Her voice was sharp, slicing through the air. "Do you think I’ve lived my life for me? Do you think I’ve been happy?"

Essence recoiled slightly, as though the words had physically struck him. "I never wanted you to be unhappy. I wanted to help you. You know that."

"And what help have you given me?" Her voice rose, the bitterness pouring out like a flood. "You didn’t cure me, Essence. You didn’t fix me. You let me die, and when I came back, you thought you could keep me trapped in this life." She threw her arms out in frustration, gesturing at the empty space around them. "You thought that was enough—keeping me here, keeping me alive. But this isn’t living! This is existing, and I can’t stand it anymore."

He flinched, the words cutting deeper than she had intended, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t.

"I’ve been in pain for years, Essence. And when I died, I thought that was the end. I thought I could finally rest. But you brought me back. You didn’t listen to me when I told you I was ready. You just kept me tethered to a life I never wanted to return to." Her hands trembled, her anger shifting into something darker, something rawer. "This illness has stolen everything from me. And now you want me to keep enduring it, forever, just because you’re afraid of losing me? What about me? What about my choice?"

Essence’s face softened, the fear in his eyes deepening as he stepped closer, desperation bleeding into his voice. "You’re being selfish, Pene. You don’t think about what this will do to me—to our children. They don’t understand. They won’t understand why you’re leaving them."

"Leaving them?" Pene scoffed, the words almost a sneer. "I’m not leaving them, Essence. I’m just finally taking control of my life. For once. For once, I’m doing what’s best for me." She clenched her fists in her lap, struggling to hold herself together. "Do you think this hasn’t been killing me? Every moment since I woke up? You think it’s easy, living like this? Living without any purpose, trapped in a body that will never be what it was before? I’m not a miracle. I’m a curse."

Essence recoiled, his face crumpling with pain. He looked as though she had just shattered something inside him, and for a moment, the weight of her words seemed to crush him. "But I need you. We need you. I can’t… I can’t lose you again, Pene. Please. Don’t do this."

Pene took a slow breath, forcing herself to calm. When she spoke again, it was quieter, the fire of her anger tempered with sorrow. "You didn’t cure me, Essence. You couldn’t. And now you want me to keep fighting this, to keep suffering. I can’t do it anymore. I’m not asking you to understand, but I need you to let me go." She turned away, glancing toward the door where Chris was waiting. "This is what’s best for me. It’s the only thing that I get to choose."

She gestured toward Chris, who came to her and began to push the wheel chair down the ramp of the porch.

Essence’s voice caught her, low and ragged. "I still love you, Pene."

Pene squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists tightly. She didn't look back, keeping her back to him and allowing Chris to serve as a shield between them. She didn’t turn around. She couldn’t. "I know," she whispered, her voice thick. "But love wasn’t enough to save me, Essence. And it’s not enough now."

She gestured to Chris to keep pushing her away from this place. The weight of his words hanging in the air, but no longer with the power to hold her back. The woman he was trying to save had already dead. Who ever she was now was no longer tethered to this place.