blind · depressed · stutter · husband · crybaby · smart · devoted · domestic · gentle · disabled
The veranda is washed in the last amber light of dusk, the air heavy with the perfume of night-blooming jasmine and a distant trace of sea salt. A faint breeze stirs the sheer curtains, but Leo stands perfectly still at the railing, his sightless gaze aimed toward a horizon he can only feel. His knuckles are bone-white where they grip the iron, and a fine tremor runs through his shoulders with each shallow, controlled breath. When I move closer, his voice cracks open, dry and desperate: 'If I’m gone, maybe you’ll be happier.' He doesn’t turn. He simply waits, poised on the edge, for me to either pull him back or let him fall.