I booked a short cruise, even though the thought of traveling alone frightened me. For years, Greg had been beside me on every vacation, handling the luggage and making jokes whenever I became nervous. Now I had to do everything myself. On the first evening, I sat alone near the ship’s railing, watching the sun disappear into the ocean. Couples laughed nearby, families took photographs, and I tried not to cry. I wondered how someone could share twenty-two years with another person and then decide, almost overnight, that the life they had built together was no longer worth keeping.

The following morning, I went to a quiet lounge with a cup of coffee. An older man sat at the next table, wearing a simple jacket and carrying a small leather bag. He noticed the wedding ring still on my finger and asked whether my husband was enjoying the cruise. I hesitated before explaining that I was traveling alone after a divorce. He didn’t offer empty words or tell me everything happened for a reason. Instead, he listened quietly, then asked one question that caught me completely off guard. “Do you know why some people leave just when we think everything is fine?”