She often told herself that she would slow down eventually.
Next month.
After this project.
After the holidays.
After things became easier.
But somehow, “eventually” never arrived.
That morning, she opened her phone while drinking her coffee.
There were dozens of notifications.
A friend had posted pictures from a weekend trip. Someone she knew had announced an engagement. Another person had shared photographs from a beautiful dinner.
Emma scrolled through them without thinking.
Everyone seemed happy.
Everyone seemed to be doing something exciting.
Everyone seemed to have a life that looked more interesting than hers.
She put the phone down.
For a moment, she simply stared out the window.
Across the street, an elderly woman was standing beneath the entrance of a small bakery.
The woman was holding a paper bag in one hand and an umbrella in the other. She was smiling.
Emma couldn’t understand why.
It was raining.
