I Couldn’t Bring Myself to Blow Out the Candle

Dear Delyara, I lit it after everyone went to bed. Vanilla and cedar, the expensive one I save for nights when I need the room to feel like it belongs to a gentler woman than the one I’ve been all day. I sat on the edge of the bed and watched the flame for a long time. I didn’t want to blow it out because blowing it out meant admitting the day was over and tomorrow was next. And sometimes I can’t bear how quickly one hard day turns into another simply because the clock keeps moving and the house expects you to move with it. So I let the candle burn lower than I should have. I watched wax drip down one side and thought, I am doing to myself what this flame is doing to the wick. Then I blew it out and lay awake for another hour anyway.