The next afternoon, she arrived carrying a letter from the clinic.

I had been accepted into the trial.

That night, I thought about who I had been before the diagnosis. The woman who had argued with a contractor until he rebuilt the entire back porch. The woman who selected her own paint colors and drove herself to Asheville just to see the autumn leaves.

Little by little, I had handed those parts of myself to Brian until dependence became a routine, and the routine became my identity.

For the first time in years, I was making my own decision.

The following morning, Marissa arrived at my door with coffee and a bag packed for the clinic.

“Are you still sure about this, Gina?”

Dr. Halim was careful, patient, and honest about every risk. The procedure itself took less time than I expected.

The recovery was stranger.

For two days, everything resembled a blurred watercolor painting.

On the third morning, I opened my eyes and saw the ceiling fan.

I truly saw it.

The blades, the pull chain, even dust gathered along the edges.

I cried for an hour.

A few days later, once Dr. Halim was satisfied I could safely manage, Marissa drove me home.

I stood in my hallway staring at details I had forgotten existed.

“The curtains are blue,” I whispered. “I thought they were green. Brian always said it was green.”

“They’ve been blue the whole time,” Marissa said carefully.

I moved through each room like a stranger being shown someone else’s home.

The photographs on the mantel.