Erin gave some excuse about the neighbor talking loudly on her phone, and the man simply stood there in shock. Erin’s father disappeared, and the man turned his attention to Erin once more. “I’m here. I’m definitely here…” He said “You could be crazy, because this is my apartment.” He added. When Erin brought up the doorknob, the man looked at his hand once more. “I know… there is only one answer.” He paused for a few moments, and then looked up at her once more. “It’s a government conspiracy. They must have drugged me with something experimental. That’s why I my hand can move through the knob.” He paused, knowing that it wasn’t a complete explanation, but unsure of how to handle the rest of what was going on.

“And maybe the drug also make light bend around me to older people, like… those phone ringtones years ago. They had the high frequency buzzing so adults couldn’t hear it. Maybe they found a way to bend light and manipulate sound… it’s the only thing that makes sense.” He turned away from her for a moment and went back to the door, reaching his hand out not towards the knob, but towards the door itself. His hand was palm out, and he pressed gently against the door, feeling minimal resistance as his hand disappeared. Perhaps it was an invasion of privacy, but he still felt like this was his apartment, and so he was justified. The man took a deep breath, and then took a step forward disappearing into the apartment for a few moments. 

Upon entering, he saw Erin’s father sitting inside on the couch. He was watching television, but to the man, it wasn’t the most noticeable thing. No, far more noticeable was the fact that things had changed. This wasn’t right. The dishes on the counter were wrong. The couch, the coffee table, all of his decorations, even the art on the walls was wrong. He only stayed for a few moments before he went back to the door, pausing to look at the bathroom sink. As he had said to Erin, it was chipped. This was his apartment, but so many things had changed… how long had he been gone?

He reappeared in the hallway less than a minute after he left. “I…my stuff is gone.” He said. “I don’t understand. That is my apartment… the chip on the sink, I lived here for years… I don’t…” He was visibly deflated, and pale. He couldn’t understand why so much was different than what he knew. “I am important… I am… holy fuck. I don’t know my name. Erin, what’s going on?” He questioned, beginning to panic a little.