“That’s the whole story. Their souls rose together, and their bodies remained below, floating on the surface of the water. I alone was saved. The coast guard picked me out of the sea, threw a blanket over me, and set me down on a large metal locker. They asked my name, who I was, where I had come from, and whether I had come alone. I couldn’t speak but just stared with vacant eyes. My information form remained blank. They wrote down that I was in shock and had lost the ability to speak from the trauma. They did not record that my soul too had been lost and drowned. It is still out there, floating upon the water … ”

The man finished talking. With the sleeve of his jacket, he wiped the smear of snot, sweat, and tears off his face. It was too much for me, and I could not get away fast enough. A desire for my balcony suddenly overwhelmed me, and without any further delay, I decided to abandon that place of grief and return home before anything turned me from my path.

When I arrived, the balcony was waiting. The jasmine and carnation had grown and were covered in dust. I filled the watering can and went back to clean and water them. I used a feather duster on my chair and the table. Then I sat down, leaned back my head, and set my feet on the balcony. The power was out, so the neighborhood was dark. Everything was utterly still. I looked at the shade of the black demon: the tower was now in its final stage. In a matter of weeks it would be finished. No more than weeks. As it grew taller, my own building contracted. I could hear it thinking, “Whence this misfortune? Why me?” My building shrank like that man’s family, and like him, I would not escape. I remembered the small envelope. Where had I put it? There it was. I drew it out of my pants pocket, opened it, and read what I had written, just a few words:

“Of water and salt.”

———

When I entered my room, I found someone standing in front of the window, staring out, still and silent as a corpse. My entrance did not startle him, nor did he turn from the window to face me. I sat on the edge of the bed, worn out from my session with Andrew and wanting to sink into the stillness to give my ringing ears some relief from the noise of all his talking.