The fluorescent lights of the corridor hummed softly overhead, casting a crisp, clinical glow over the pristine floor polished to a mirror shine. Lost in a labyrinth of her own lingering thoughts, Sarah walked with slow, unseeing steps near the pantry entrance. Her gaze was fixed on the empty air inches ahead of her, her mind anchored somewhere far away from the demands of the corporate realm.
A sudden, warm voice broke through the haze of her reverie.
"Hey there, where are you wandering off to?"
Alvin stepped into her path, a gentle smile curving his lips as he offered a lighthearted reprimand, noticing the complete absence of awareness in her vacant gaze.
Sarah gasped, snapping back to reality so abruptly her heels caught slightly against the floor. She skidded to a halt, narrowly avoiding a collision with the wall—or Alvin himself.
"Oh... Alvin," she murmured, exhaling a long, shuddering breath as she pressed a trembling hand against her chest to soothe her racing heart.
