Before?

 [Journal Entry – Still No Date]




 This morning, there was a napkin under my cup.


I don’t know if it was already there or if someone put it while I wasn’t looking.

Could’ve been nothing. Could’ve been trash.


One word, written in shaky black ink.


“Before.”


Looked like handwriting. No one writes by hand anymore.


I stared at it for a while. Thought maybe it was from the café. Some weird slogan. But there was no logo. No smell of ink, either — just old paper and something faintly metallic.


I didn’t throw it away. I folded it once and slipped it into my pocket like it might matter later. It probably won’t.


But the word stuck to the inside of my head all day.


Before what?

Before now?


I don’t remember having a “before.”


What is Before?


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