no one look at her
353 Words
The flow carries him without requiring a decision.
Each intersection opens at the right moment. The waiting time is sufficient to prevent irritation, yet never long enough for thought to drift. Every movement is absorbed smoothly into the collective current, as if individuality were only a minor fluctuation already accounted for.
He stops at a beverage counter.
There is no clear line, but there is no crowding either. People stand at reasonable distances—close enough to avoid isolation, far enough to avoid intrusion. The screen displays familiar options. A few are marked as “more suitable for this time.”
He selects one of them.
Not because it is recommended.
Simply because he has no clear reason to choose otherwise.
The transaction completes without confirmation. No success tone. Just a background state change, like everything else.
When he steps away, the drink is already in his hand.
The temperature is correct. The flavor is neutral. There is nothing to complain about, and nothing to remember. He takes a sip, then another—not from thirst, but because it is the next reasonable step.
On the sidewalk, a woman stands still for slightly longer than necessary. She looks at her device, scrolls through the same information twice, then stops.
No one looks at her.
No one asks.
After a few seconds, she moves on, merging back into the flow, as if the pause had never occurred.
He realizes that he has witnessed it.
He also realizes that it leaves no trace in him.
Ahead, the building where he works comes into view—not imposing, not remarkable, simply present where it should be. Its glass surface reflects the pale morning sky, along with the people entering it, one by one, on time.
He passes through the entrance.
There is no check.
No confirmation.
No greeting.
Only a silent acknowledgment that he is where he is supposed to be.
The doors close behind him, soft and sealed.
And the world outside continues to operate—no faster, no slower—as if his presence or absence had never been a variable worth accounting for.
- Writer
