The sound of traffic was a constant hum as I stood at the corner of Main and 5th, waiting for the light to change. My eyes were on the pedestrian signal, counting down the seconds. It was a routine errand, nothing out of the ordinary. I had just left the office, the weight of the day’s work still lingering in my thoughts. My messenger bag, packed with reports and my laptop, felt heavier than usual, a reminder of the tasks waiting for me at home.
The light turned green, and I started across the street, the sun warm on my back. As I reached the other side, I noticed a small crowd gathered around the bus stop, drawn by a conversation that was just loud enough to catch my attention. A woman, holding a worn envelope, was speaking in hushed tones to a man in a suit. The envelope had a red stamp on it, ‘Urgent – 07/15/2023’.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, a reminder to check my emails. I reached into my bag, feeling for the familiar shape of my phone, but my fingers brushed against something else. It was a crisp, unfamiliar document, folded neatly, the kind you’d expect to see in a lawyer’s office. My heart skipped a beat as I pulled it out, unfolding it with a mix of curiosity and apprehension.
The document was dense with legal jargon, but one line stood out, my name printed clearly. I glanced up, my eyes returning to the bus stop where the woman and man were now shaking hands. What was going on? Why was my name on this document? I tucked it back into my bag, feeling a new kind of weight settle in.
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