Exhale
Day Zero
At 6:01 a.m., Manhattan was already awake.
The sidewalks pulsed with their usual rhythm. Office workers hurried toward subway entrances with steaming cups of coffee. Yellow taxis darted through intersections, their impatient horns blending into the city’s familiar soundtrack. Cyclists wove through traffic with practiced confidence, while street vendors arranged bagels and newspapers for the morning rush.
To everyone there, it was just another Monday.
No one noticed the man until he stopped walking.
He had been crossing East 42nd Street, his briefcase swinging gently at his side, when he froze in the middle of the sidewalk. A woman in a navy suit bumped into his shoulder and muttered