Episode 41 - Marked as Misfiled

It came in the Wednesday delivery batch.

Standard envelopes. A few tapes. One suspiciously damp package that Charles would investigate later with gloves, goggles, and a tinfoil prayer.

Olivia moved efficiently, sorting by date, location, dimensional frequency.

Until she reached one folder.

Nothing was wrong with it.

Not exactly.

The paper wasn’t cursed. The ink wasn’t moving. It hadn’t even changed temperature in her hand.

But she knew.

It didn’t want to be here.

And the station didn’t want it either.

She didn’t panic. Didn’t announce anything.

She just picked it up and walked it quietly to Bernard.

He paused mid-glide, tentacles folding inward as she held it out.

He didn’t take it.

He just looked at it.

Then looked at her.

“Correct,” he said.

She set it down.

“What is it?”

He blinked. Slowly.

“It’s misfiled,” he said. “It belongs to a place that hasn’t been built yet.”

“That’s… possible?”

“It is now,” Bernard said.

Later, in the breakroom, Charles muttered, “I hate phantom paperwork. You can’t shred potential.”

Miss LaDonna murmured, “Best to leave it unread. The moment it knows it’s been seen, it begins to unfold.”

Olivia made a note to move it to the temporary holding drawer.

She labeled it clearly: “Not Yet / Do Not Open / Meant for Somewhere Else.”

And the folder stayed put.

For now.

It was subtle, but everyone felt it:

Olivia had handled it better than any of them would’ve.

Not because she was stronger.

Because she was right-sized for it.

Whatever came next?

She’d see it coming.