Author: Sonia M. Rompoti
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The Ask

For the first year they’d been together, she’d never asked him for anything. Not from independence, exactly — more from a reflex learned before him, a kind of pre-emptive self-sufficiency that said: don’t need things, don’t ask, handle it yourself. She’d been the person in every previous relationship who needed less, always, who found asking…
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The Playlist

He made her playlists. Not for occasions — not birthday playlists or anniversary playlists or playlists themed around trips. Just playlists. Regular, unsolicited, titled in the lowercase way of someone who didn’t want to make them a bigger deal than they were. *things for a thursday**for when you’re driving and it’s raining**this one is sort…
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The Patience of It

He wasn’t good at asking for help. This was known. Documented. An established feature of the landscape of him that she’d mapped early and learned to navigate without complaint. He could give help endlessly — that was never the issue. He was generous, observant, practically useful in a dozen ways daily. Receiving it was a…
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Missing Someone Who’s Still Alive: A Samhain Ritual for Living Losses

How to acknowledge a changed relationship, make room for what you miss, and choose one thing that supports you now. A friendship ends, a marriage breaks down, or someone you love stops being part of your everyday life. They’re still alive, but the relationship you relied on has changed. You reach for your phone to…
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The Parallel Life

She’d met someone else, years before she met him — someone she’d come close to building a life with, someone whose absence she’d grieved properly before she’d moved on. It wasn’t a secret. She’d told Rafi early, the way you tell someone important things when you want to give the whole truth and not just…
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The Night Before

The night before any big thing — a presentation, a difficult conversation, a trip that made her nervous — he always did the same thing. He didn’t offer advice unless she asked. Didn’t try to solve the thing or minimize it or reassure her that it would be fine. He just stayed present in the…




