The plane lands and, as the noise of the city envelops me again, I understand it clearly...
To return is not to return to the same place.
New York remains the same. But I don't, and the gap between me and Ethan is no longer as wide as it once was.
That should scare me. But, deep down, what I feel is not fear... It is an expectation.
New York always sounds... Mermaids. Traffic. Voices. Elevators going up and down at all hours.
But today, when I walk into the building, it feels strange.
Too quiet.
The doorman greets me with that usual courtesy and I take the elevator alone. The reflection in the mirror brings back to me a version of myself that I still don't quite recognize. More tired. More adult. More... exposed.
When the door to my apartment opens, the air smells the same as ever.
