Office Romance
The Eleventh Step at Dawn
At one o’clock in the morning, I counted the Eleventh Step on the western staircase of my office building.
Resting on that single step was a white sneaker, its laces tied into the same blue dead knot my missing best friend always used.
Five years ago, a woman had died in this building.
Now, the security guard who holds the elevator for me every day looked up and flashed a smile.
“Miss Tang, you shouldn’t go around counting stairs.”
