The fire started in the break room.

It was small at first. A spark in the coffee machine. A puff of acrid smoke. Then the curtain caught.

Margaret watched.

She did not run.

She stood by the vending machine. Her hand held a lukewarm can of tea. The heat rose. It licked her face.

The alarm shrieked.

A red eye blinked above the door.

Margaret dropped the tea.

It rolled on the tile.

She walked toward the window.

Glass shattered.

Heat rushed in.

She climbed out.

Her shoes slipped.

She fell.

Not far. Just to the alley.

She lay on the wet pavement.

Rain began to fall.

It washed the soot from her hair.

People ran past.

Sirens wailed.

Margaret sat up.

She looked back at the building.

The smoke was thick.

It swallowed the light.

She went home.

Her apartment was quiet.

The walls were thin.

She could hear the neighbors moving.

She put on her pajamas.

They were gray.

They smelled of lavender.

She lay in bed.

She stared at the ceiling.

The plaster was cracked.

A line ran from the lamp to the corner.

It looked like a vein.

It looked like a river.

She thought of the fire.

She thought of the heat.

She closed her eyes.

Sleep came.

It was heavy.

It was dark.

In the morning, the phone rang.

It was the supervisor.

His voice was flat.

He did not say hello.

He spoke of the report.

He spoke of the damages.

He spoke of her negligence.

He said the insurance would not cover it.

He said the company would sue.

He said she was fired.

He hung up.

The phone clicked.

Silence returned.

Margaret held the receiver.

The plastic was warm.

She looked at the window.

The sun was bright.

It shone on the street.

It shone on the cars.

It shone on the people.

They walked.

They talked.

They lived.

Margaret stood up.

She walked to the kitchen.

The counter was clean.

The sink was empty.

She turned on the tap.

Water flowed.

Clear.

Cold.

She cupped her hands.

She drank.

It tasted of metal.

It tasted of dust.

She thought of the fire again.

She thought of the smoke.

She thought of the fall.

She went to work.

The office was cold.

The air conditioning hummed.

The lights were fluorescent.

They buzzed.

They flickered.

Margaret sat at her desk.

The chair was hard.

The keyboard was cold.

She typed.

She made entries.

She filed reports.

She answered emails.

The hours passed.

The clock ticked.

The second hand moved.

Round.

And round.

And round.

At noon, she went to the cafeteria.

The food was gray.

The meat was dry.

The vegetables were soft.

She ate.

She chewed.

She swallowed.

She did not taste anything.

She looked around.

The other employees.

They ate.

They talked.

They laughed.

They did not see her.

She was a ghost.

She was a shadow.

She returned to her desk.

The afternoon stretched.

The light faded.

The shadows grew.

Her phone rang.

It was her sister.

Her voice was kind.

She asked how Margaret was.

Margaret said she was fine.

Her sister said she could hear it was not true.

Her sister said she would come over.

She said she would bring soup.

She hung up.

Margaret looked at the phone.

She put it down.

She continued to work.

The day ended.

She packed her bag.

She turned off the computer.

She locked the door.

The key turned.

The lock clicked.

She walked out.

The street was empty.

The cars had gone.

The lights were on.

They glowed in the dark.

She walked home.

The wind blew.

It was cold.

It cut through her coat.

She pulled the collar up.

She walked faster.

Her steps echoed.

Click.

Clack.

Click.

Clack.

She reached her building.

The lobby was empty.

The security guard slept.

His head rested on his arms.

His snoring was loud.

It was rhythmic.

Like a machine.

Margaret took the elevator.

The doors closed.

The numbers changed.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

The doors opened.

The hallway was dark.

She walked to her door.

The key was in her hand.

It was cold.

She inserted it.

She turned.

The door opened.

She stepped in.

The room was dark.

The air was stale.

She turned on the light.

The bulb flickered.

It stayed on.

She looked around.

The furniture was the same.

The books were the same.

The photos were the same.

Nothing had changed.

And yet.

Everything was different.

She felt a weight.

It was on her chest.

It was heavy.

It was stone.

She walked to the window.

The glass was cold.

She touched it.

Her reflection stared back.

Her eyes were dark.

Her face was pale.

She saw a stranger.

She saw a victim.

She saw a criminal.

She saw a ghost.

She pulled away.

The mirror was empty.

She went to the bedroom.

She lay in bed.

The sheets were cool.

The pillow was soft.

She stared at the ceiling.

The crack was there.

The vein.

The river.

It flowed.

It flowed.

It flowed.

She thought of the fire.

She thought of the smoke.

She thought of the fall.

She thought of the rain.

She thought of the phone.

She thought of the report.

She thought of the fire.

The cycle.

The loop.

The wheel.

It turned.

It turned.

It turned.

She could not stop it.

She could not escape it.

She was trapped.

In the room.

In the body.

In the mind.

In the time.

It was a cage.

The bars were invisible.

They were made of thought.

They were made of memory.

They were made of fear.

She closed her eyes.

The darkness came.

It was absolute.

It was total.

It was endless.

In the darkness, she saw the fire.

It was not in the building.

It was in her.

It burned.

It consumed.

It destroyed.

It created.

It was the truth.

It was the lie.

It was the beginning.

It was the end.

She opened her eyes.

The room was dark.

The night was deep.

The moon was high.

It shone through the window.

The light was silver.

It fell on the floor.

It fell on the bed.

It fell on her.

She was part of it.

She was part of the light.

She was part of the dark.

She was part of the fire.

She was part of the rain.

She was part of the silence.

She was part of the sound.

She was part of the cycle.

She was part of the wheel.

She was part of the truth.

She was part of the lie.

She was part of the life.

She was part of the death.

She was part of the everything.

She was part of the nothing.

She breathed.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

The air filled her lungs.

It filled her body.

It filled her soul.

It was clean.

It was fresh.

It was new.

The fire was out.

The smoke was gone.

The ash was cold.

The rain had stopped.

The sun would rise.

The day would begin.

The work would continue.

The clock would tick.

The second hand would move.

Round.

And round.

And round.

But she was different.

She was free.

She was released.

She was let go.

The cage was open.

The bars were broken.

The lock was sprung.

The door was wide.

She could leave.

She could go.

She could be.

She chose to stay.

She chose to live.

She chose to breathe.

She chose to be here.

Now.

This moment.

This breath.

This life.

It was enough.

It was everything.

It was the answer.

It was the question.

It was the silence.

It was the song.

It was the fire.

It was the rain.

It was the truth.

It was the lie.

It was the beginning.

It was the end.

It was the middle.

It was the now.

She slept.

She dreamed.

She woke.

The sun was up.

The light was bright.

The world was waiting.

She was ready.

She rose.

She stood.

She walked.

She lived.

The cycle continued.

But she was no longer the prisoner.

She was the witness.

She was the observer.

She was the light.

She was the dark.

She was the fire.

She was the rain.

She was the silence.

She was the sound.

She was the life.

She was the death.

She was the truth.

She was the lie.

She was the beginning.

She was the end.

She was the everything.

She was the nothing.

She was the self.

She was the other.

She was the one.

She was the many.

She was the all.

She was the none.

She was the is.

She was the was.

She was the will be.

She was the has been.

She was the is being.

She was the will have been.

She was the has been being.

She was the will be being.

She was the is being being.

She was the has been being being.

She was the will have been being.

She was the is being being being.

She was the has been being being being.

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