Lost Phone in the Folding Aisles of the Grocery Store

Lost Phone in the Folding Aisles of the Grocery Store

I was at the grocery store after work, hunting for my phone because I was sure I’d left it in the cart. The aisles kept folding back on themselves so I’d end up at produce again. In the checkout line I saw my old neighbor from college, except when she turned it was also my boss from the office, same face somehow. She asked if I’d found it yet and I didn’t know what she meant. Then I was in the parking garage, which had the fluorescent lights and cubicle smell of my building. My keys were in my hand but none of them opened any car. I kept thinking someone was between the rows behind me, footsteps matching mine, but whenever I looked it was just empty concrete. I woke up with that leftover dread that I’d missed something important and everyone already knew.