Maria:
My father’s office looks exactly the same from the outside, which almost annoys me. I think a part of me expected something obvious, something that would match what I heard last night. But everything is in place. The glass, the quiet reception, the familiar structure of it all. It would be easy to believe nothing is wrong if I didn’t already know.
Still, something feels different the moment I walk in. It is not loud. No one is panicking, no one is running around, but there is a kind of restraint in the air. Conversations are lower. Movements are more careful. A few people glance at me and then quickly look away, like they are trying not to be seen noticing me. That small shift is enough.
I head straight to his office.
He is already there, seated, composed in the way he always is
