She neglected the letter opener and rushed to unseal the envelope, tearing the short edge off anxiously. Her eyes scanned quickly for the words she hoped to read. At first run-through, “accepted” was nowhere to be found.

Surely it’s there. She just missed it, right? A second glance at the first paragraph coldly confirmed her fears. This was a rejection notice, not a letter of acceptance.

Frustrated, she grabbed her keys from the hall table and left the house immediately, needing some fresh air and a place to sit and think. Taking off toward the shoreline park, her mind raced. How could they not want her? Weren’t her scores high enough? How many applicants did they accept?

Two blocks down, and she was already tired of thinking. The cut-through to the wharf caught her eye. Maybe the hustle of passers-by and tourists would be a better diversion than the park. She skipped over the first souvenir t-shirt shop and convenience store and entered the fish market on the left side of the boulevard.

She moved quickly through the stands of sea creatures amidst a cloud of consumers and workers in dirtied aprons. Dozens of fish eyes stared without shame and followed as she passed, opposing her clarity of thought. Her feet travelled faster past the next few booths to escape paranoia, then stopped suddenly in front of a table of colorful crustaceans.

A mountain of crabs stood before her. They were laid carefully in stacks and rows and covered in ice, waiting for nothing now but to be inspected, sold, and cooked. Her mind flashed to the bottom of the ocean, and she wondered what it was like down there, covered in deep darkness. She wondered if the crabs knew how she felt: cold, alone, scrutinized, judged.

The sign read “SALE! 50% off - $11”. She reached into her purse, pulling out a twenty and two ones. “I’ll take that one,” she pointed. “At the bottom in the middle column.” She held out the three crisp bills as the attendant wrapped up her selection. He traded, then went to the cash register, looking quizzically at the two singles.

“Keep the change,” she said, and moved on.