It’s slow at first.
Quiet and shy.

I’m tired.
She says.
All of the time.

Well, that’s normal.
I say.
Get to bed earlier.
Sleep in on the weekends.

No.
She says.
Definitive.
Absolute.
You don’t understand.
I should’ve known.
I shouldn’t’ve come.

She stands.
She turns to the door.

Wait.
I say.
Tell me.

No.
She says.
I have to go.

Why?

Because.
I’m tired.

She turns again.

Where are you going?
I ask.

She walks to the door.

To sleep.
She says.

When will you be back?
I ask.

I don’t know.
She says.


She doesn’t look at me,
As she leaves.
She melts into the grey,
Beyond the hill.
She vanishes,
Forever.
Never to be seen again.