EQUILIBRIUM – A state of balance between two opposing forces or processes.

This was what he knew. The world was in a state of constant flux. Sea water evaporated into the atmosphere, blew inland, came down as rain, and flowed in rivers back to the sea. Along the way, water maintained a habitable climate and fed the vegetables which he found in the produce aisle every week. Tides ebbed and flowed. Seasons changed. This was the balance which he knew made life possible.

He experienced equilibrium himself on a smaller scale. He got up, went to work each morning, gained stress from grading papers turned in by students who did not listen to him, and from the department chair, who was pressuring him to turn in his latest lab results, then came home to relax by surfing the internet, while Deal or No Deal played on the TV behind him. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. It was not a great balance, but it was a balance nonetheless.

And then he met her.

Maintaining balance, he realized then, was a very tricky thing.