Joe had been working in this building for fifteen years.
Every workday for the past fifteen years, he would take the elevator from the twenty-third floor to the seventh-floor café at 10:15 in the morning and enjoy a cup of coffee alone. This café had been in business since the building was constructed in 1962, adorned with exquisite walnut paneling, exuding a unique charm. Joe typically spent 20 minutes there and then returned to his desk to continue working.
However, today, when the elevator door opened, Joe froze.
The seventh floor lacked the walnut paneling, familiar waitstaff, cozy round tables, and the café itself.
To be precise, there was nothing at all; all Joe saw was a sea of white light. The light was intense but not blinding.
Joe rubbed his eyes and walked into it. He felt like he was walking on an enormous marshmallow, even though there was still a halo of light beneath his feet. Looking up, the sky seemed boundless.
Joe collapsed to the ground. He expected himself to be amazed, frightened, or desperately seeking an explanation. Instead, he immediately fell into a sleep—a kind of sleep he hadn’t experienced since infancy.
When he woke up, everything remained the same. Surrounded by a bright white light from all directions. It didn’t seem like a dream, Joe mumbled to himself. Then, he suddenly remembered an important meeting at 11:00 and got up to look around. Joe found the elevator promptly.
In the midst of a halo of light, an independent metal-framed door stood tall with two buttons on the side, which was quite interesting.
Joe entered the elevator and pressed the button for the 23rd floor. The elevator ascended as usual. He checked his watch, and it is only 10:16.
Back at his desk, Joe felt disoriented. Was that a dream? But I did fall asleep. How could I have slept for only a minute?
At 11:30, Joe invited Matt to the café for a cup of coffee. Matt is one of his few friends, probably his best friend.
Matt looked at him, “Didn’t bring lunch today?”
“I forgot,” Joe said. And he indeed forgot – he hadn’t spoken to Joyce in a few days, so he didn’t remember if there were any non-expired slices of bread at home.
The two men entered the elevator, and Joe pressed the button for the seventh floor. At that moment, he felt like a magician performing a trick for Matt.
The door opened, they saw the familiar walnut paneling. Matt put his arm around Joe, and they walked out together. They had a rare, cheerful lunch.
At 2:00 PM, even though Joe was dealing with an urgent matter, he couldn’t sit still. Eventually, he decided to stand up and head to the elevator. Matt looked at him with a slight smile. Joe entered the elevator and pressed the button for the seventh floor.
The door opened to a white, bright halo.
Joe walked out. He checked his watch, and the hands stopped. Joe didn’t find it particularly strange. He looked around, and in every direction, there seemed to be no end. Joe thought, this must not be heaven; he hadn’t experienced a clear process of death. Therefore, he wasn’t particularly afraid. In fact, the halo made him feel serene, so he decided to explore.
Joe walked like he was strolling along a country road on the weekend. As he walked, he looked around – everything seemed to be covered by an endless halo. Regardless of how far he walked in any direction, everything remained the same.
“This is a good place,” he thought. “I can bring some tricky tasks here to work on. No one to disturb, absolute quiet. No need to worry about deadlines; it looks like time in here has basically stopped. I can also figure out a way to bring Joyce here. Both of us can calm down in a place like this. If we can’t come in together, she can come alone.”
Lost in thought, Joe felt his brain gradually slowing down until each random thought disappeared from his mind. He sat down involuntarily, feeling a profound tranquility within.
Joe came to the seventh floor at 2:12, 3:26, 4:45, and 5:12 that afternoon. He spent over two thousand three hundred and sixty years there in total, and he was oblivious to this. Each time he woke up from that tranquility, Joe felt immense joy and returned to his desk with renewed vigor.
“How many cups did you have today?” Matt teased as he approached before leaving work. “Don’t forget to hit the loo before hitting the hay, yeah?”
When Joe left the office, the old man who usually lingered at the corner was staring at him with an intense gaze. Joe was surprised because, for over a decade, this homeless man had always sat there, occasionally opening his eyes to glance at passersby. But today, he stared at Joe without looking away.
Joe took out some spare change, about to put it in the man’s bowl, but the old man stopped him. “You went to ‘that place’,” he said.
Joe stood up, eyes wide open, looking at him.
“So, I missed it,” the old man said, “that place only appears once every fifty years.”
He also stood up, patted Joe’s shoulder, chuckled, and left the place, disappearing without a trace. Joe remained standing there, dumbfounded.