Running Down a Stretching Hallway Into a Subway‑Coffee Office

Running Down a Stretching Hallway Into a Subway‑Coffee Office

I woke up late for work and sprinted down the hallway of my apartment building, but the hallway kept stretching. I finally burst out the front door and realized the street was the same downtown I know, except the coffee shop on the corner was also the subway station I use. I tried to order a latte, but the barista handed me a transit pass and the turnstile opened onto a platform that looked exactly like my office lobby. I walked onto the platform, sat at my desk, and my computer screen showed the same spreadsheet I was supposed to finish, but the spreadsheet was a map of the city with routes marked in neon. My coworker, Jenna, walked by wearing my mother’s old sweater and my dad’s watch at the same time, and she smiled like she’d just seen me after years. I tried to explain the mix‑up, but my voice sounded like a train announcement. I woke up just as the train doors were closing, heart pounding, and realized I’d missed my real bus.