Broken stillness

The stillness of the air-conditioned afternoon enveloped everything in the room — the bed, the chair, the pillow, the curtains and us.

V snoozed beside me.

“I am quitting… I am quitting,” said the voice in my head.

“No — you can’t,” came the response. It was a female voice that I did not recognize.

“I need to — I can’t deal with this. I am quitting,” the voice pleaded.

“You can’t quit,” came the stern instruction.

I woke up with tears rolling down helplessly. V woke up soon after.