Jon stepped back into the hallway.
Same building.
Same world.
Same questions still sitting in the back of his mind.
Nothing had changed.
At least… that’s what it looked like.
Then he heard it.
“Hey.”
Not loud.
Not urgent.
Just enough to stop him.
Jon turned.
At first glance, there was nothing remarkable about the guy.
No uniform.
No authority.
No reason to stand out.
And yet…
Something didn’t sit right.
Not threatening.
Not obvious.
Just… different.
Like he didn’t belong there.
Jon had felt that way his whole life.
So he recognized it immediately.
“Are you lost?” Jon asked.
It was half a joke.
Half instinct.
The guy smiled.
Just slightly.
Like he understood something Jon didn’t.
“Not exactly.”
There was a pause.
The kind that stretches just a little too long.
Then—
“I think you are.”
Something about that landed.
Not as an insult.
Not even as a challenge.
More like…
A statement.
Jon didn’t respond right away.
Because for the first time all day—
Something felt real.
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