Lifers

by K.C. Blume

I’ve been here before, not at this facility, but in this state of mind.

The highs and lows of bipolar disorder aren’t short-lived. Sometimes, they last for ages, and this winter has dragged on for years.

“Everything about you is temporary.”

And let’s not forget about the catcalling. I would kill every man who’s ever whistled at me on my walk to work if I could, and I say that with my chest.

Every night since then, she has called to me in body and spirit. Not by mouth, but by soul. Hers calls to mine in the dark, and if she is the siren in the night, then I am the willing sailor diving into the sea, happily drowning myself so that she might find companionship amongst the algae.