Vulnerable

"Who is that sort of woman?" Vinnie snaps when Meera tries to explain the confusion that rages in her. "What woman, unless she is a nymphomaniac, or a whore, sets herself up as an available woman? We don't, Meera. Not even I. I know you think I switch lovers like I change the chopsticks in my topknot. But I am not available. You know what we are? Vulnerable!"

"That's what we are. Vulnerable fools who believe that this time no matter how often we've been proved wrong, we've found the right man. The one man who is going to enchant out lives into an extended fairy tale. The man you think you can lean into, and he'll be there for you."

Meera shudders at the phrase 'lean into'. Nothing could explain it better. That letting down of defences. A sigh of relief. Soft, soft, softness and knowing that holding it all was a bedrock of strength. She missed that so much, To let go and know there was someone to lean into.

~ Lessons in Forgetting, by Anita Nair ~