Certainty had once been Elena’s armour.
She had learned early how to anticipate outcomes, how to prepare responses before questions were fully formed. Certainty had protected her from disappointment by narrowing the possibility in advance.
Now it felt unnecessary.
She noticed the absence of it one morning as she woke without an agenda pressing against her thoughts. The day stretched ahead without shape, and instead of anxiety, she felt at ease.
Lucien arrived later, unannounced but expected in the quiet way that no longer startled her. They shared coffee without commentary, the simple domestic rhythm grounding them in the present.
“You are comfortable not knowing,” he observed.
“Yes.”
“That used to trouble you.”
“Yes.”
“What changed.”
Elena considered this.
“I stopped equating c
