Episode 32 - Request for Absence (Pending Reality)

It took Olivia three tries to type the email.

Not because she didn’t know what to say—she just couldn’t decide if “I need a break” sounded too dramatic, or if “I’d like to run errands without being haunted by an alternate version of myself” was too specific.

In the end, she settled on:

“Hi Miss LaDonna, If it’s alright, I’d like to take a personal day this week. Nothing urgent—just feel the need to breathe somewhere that doesn’t hum when I walk past it. – O”

Miss LaDonna replied exactly eight minutes later.

“Of course. Thursday is yours. Bernard has already volunteered to cover phones. Charles is skeptical. Bernard is delighted. Enjoy.

P.S. The mug agrees with your decision.”

Thursday morning arrived without fanfare.

The station gently nudged her toward the exit—literally. The main hallway realigned to shorten her walk to the lobby. A fresh cup of tea sat in a to-go tumbler labeled “Escape While You Can (In a Good Way).”

The cartoon dog winked at her from Monitor 6B as she walked out.

“Don’t burn the place down,” she said aloud.

Bernard, from behind the desk, replied with a cheerful, “No promises.”

The world outside felt too sharp. Too loud. Too linear.

No static under her feet.

No whispers in the tile grout. She walked.

Took the long way through town. Passed shops she hadn’t visited since before the job. Listened to birds that chirped in single dimensions.

She didn’t feel disconnected.

She just felt… bigger.

Like the station hadn’t shrunk her, but the world had.

She sat in a park.

Read a book that didn’t blink.

Ate a sandwich that stayed a sandwich.

Pet a cat that may or may not have known her name.

Sitting on a bench overlooking a park fountain, her tail twitched lazily.

Her ears flicked in the sun.

And no one stared.

One kid pointed at her ears, whispered to their parent, who said, “Cosplay’s really come a long way,” before giving her a thumbs-up.

She smiled. Not big. Just enough.

As the sun began to dip, she took out her phone to check the time.

There was a new message.

From: UNKNOWN Subject: Your Absence Was Noted. Attachment: [1 Unopened Envelope]

She blinked.

It was a photo of the Lost + Found box.

A new item had arrived.

And the envelope with Mr. Fibb’s instructions had begun to glow.