A woman came in after a breakup and said, “I’m going to heal.”

She said it the way people say they’re going to the gym tomorrow. A clean sentence. A strong sentence. A sentence with good posture.

And then she added, as an afterthought, “I’m avoidant.”

People like that word because it sounds clinical. It sounds like an explanation. It also lets them keep the habit while they rename it.

So I asked her, “What does healing look like to you?”

She said, “Not needing anyone.”

That’s when you know you’re not talking about healing. You’re talking about a truce with loneliness.

I told her, “You don’t have a relationship problem. You have an exit problem.”

She didn’t like that. She smiled the tight smile of someone who can leave a room without moving their feet.

So I told her stories. Not because stories are cute. Because stories slip past the guard at the gate.

And her guard was very good.