The hallway outside grew still once more, the faint footsteps of the delivery man vanishing down the stairwell as if the man had never stood there at all.
The man remained in shock.
His fingers clamped tightly around the edges of the dark container, his knuckles white against the matte wrapping.
His pulse thumped hard against his temples, his breath coming in shallow, ragged puffs that misted against the cold indoor draft.
For several seconds, he simply stood frozen on his welcome mat, his gaze locked onto the empty corridor, waiting for the illusion to break, waiting for a police siren to howl or an investigator to step around the corner with iron cuffs.
Nothing moved.
Only the distant humming of the highway traffic echoed up from the street below.
"Ha...hahaha...I must be dreaming." The man chuckled to himself, clutching the box to his chest, as if afraid that they will vanish.
He almost cried. Was this real? After two years, can he finally return to that world?
