Chapter Two Hundred and Four — The Apartment Before Work
Willow did not unpack immediately.
She stood just inside the apartment for several moments after closing the door, her bag still resting where she had dropped it, the air unmoving around her. The space felt exactly as she had left it, neither welcoming nor hostile, simply paused. Dust had settled lightly on the surfaces, visible only where the late afternoon light angled through the windows. The faint scent of stale air lingered beneath the neutral cleanliness, a thin layer of disuse that sat in her throat when she inhaled, a reminder that no one had been here to disturb anything.
