He looked up from the bottom of the ocean and up at the surface. The salt stung his eyes and the waves gently swayed him back and forth. His lungs started to burn from the breath he held within. As the time continued to lapse, he made no movement towards the breath of air above. The sun was just golden rays of light distorted by the moving water. A chain wrapped around his right ankle kept him rooted to the ocean floor. How many minutes have passed? Has it been seconds? He had a wife and family that he loved and cherished. What would happen to them? He had spent every moment wanting only the best for his family, he worked for them, he spent time with them, but that was all he could handle. He gave his everything to it. When he came home tired and exhausted he sat down and tried to forget the hardships of life. He remembered his wife. She was a force of light in his life, she worked as he did, she cared for their family as he did, but now, he realized, she did so much more. She was the emotional rock for his family, she handled every detail, every complication, every difficulty that came with being a human. He took all of this for granted, and realized it was not fair of him to let her push herself to her limit and not help her as a partner. In that moment, he watched as the glittering rays of sun played on the water as his vision began to fade. Suddenly, two soft hands touched the sides of his face. His eyes focused, and he saw that it was his wife. She swiftly moved through the water towards the chain that connected him to the ocean floor. He watched as she desperately pulled at the bottom of the chain with everything she had, and failing. She never stopped her efforts, he knew what he had to do. He swam towards his wife and grabbed the chain and together they freed him from the ocean floor. The water rushed towards them, and like a shower drain, the water disappeared into the sand. He collapsed on the sand that was once the ocean floor and gasped for air until he could breathe normally again. “I understand now,” he said. His wife smiled.