The Empty Apartment

The elevator ride up to my apartment felt unusually long that evening.

It had been a rough day at work—endless meetings, piles of paperwork, and my boss hovering like a storm cloud. But through it all, one thought kept me going: the image of Eli waiting by the window with his suitcase, waving excitedly the moment he saw me.

That little ritual had become my anchor. No matter how drained I felt, his smile always reminded me why I kept going.

But when I unlocked my door and stepped inside, silence greeted me.

“Eli?” I called, dropping my bag. “I’m home.”

No answer.

The living room was empty. The window seat was bare. The small suitcase that had always sat beside him was gone.

My heart skipped.

“Eli?” I tried again, louder this time. I checked the kitchen, the bathroom, even the spare room—but every corner of the apartment was quiet. Too quiet.

Then I saw it.

On the coffee table lay a single folded piece of paper. My hands trembled as I picked it up and unfolded it.

The handwriting was shaky, uneven—clearly written by a child.

> Auntie,

Thank you for letting me stay. But I have to go back now. Mommy said I shouldn’t bother good people for too long.

Don’t be sad. You were warm, and I’ll remember you.

—Eli

The note blurred as my eyes stung.

“No,” I whispered, clutching the paper to my chest. “No, no, no…”

I ran to the door, throwing it open, scanning the hallway desperately. Empty. I rushed down the stairs, out to the street, looking left and right, searching for that tiny figure with the oversized suitcase.

But he was nowhere.

The city moved around me, busy and indifferent, strangers passing by without noticing the panic in my eyes.

Where could he have gone? He was just a child. Alone.

Fear clawed at my chest. A hundred terrible possibilities raced through my mind. What if he got lost? What if someone dangerous found him? What if he never came back?

I gripped the note tighter, my knees weak.

How had I let this happen? I should have called the authorities sooner. I should have done something. Anything. Instead, I had selfishly held onto him, letting myself believe he could stay.

And now he was gone.

---

That night, I couldn’t sleep. I kept pacing the apartment, listening for the sound of small footsteps that never came. His laughter, his humming, his silly questions—it all echoed in my mind like a cruel memory.

The apartment felt emptier than it ever had before.

I sat on the couch, clutching his note over and over, whispering his name into the silence.

“Eli…”

---

The next morning, I dragged myself to work like a ghost. My coworkers noticed, of course—how I stared blankly at my computer, how my hands trembled when I held my coffee.

“Rough night?” one of them asked lightly.

I forced a smile. “Yeah. Something like that.”

But inside, I was crumbling.

Every time the phone rang, I prayed it would be someone telling me they had found a lost little boy. Every time the door opened, I half-expected Eli to run in, suitcase in tow, grinning like always.

But he didn’t.

---

By the time I returned home that evening, exhaustion weighed me down like lead. Still, the first thing I did was check the window seat. Empty.

I sank onto the couch, burying my face in my hands.

Maybe this was for the best. Maybe he had found his real home. Maybe his parents had finally come for him.

But if that were true… why did it hurt so much?

I thought I had gotten used to loneliness. But Eli had shown me something different—what it felt like to have someone waiting, someone laughing, someone calling me Auntie with pure love in their voice.

And now that warmth was gone.

The silence was unbearable.

Then, just as despair began to settle fully in my chest, the doorbell rang.

I froze.

My heart raced as I stumbled to my feet, a thousand hopes and fears crashing inside me. Could it be—?

I opened the door.

And there he was.

Eli, with his little suitcase, eyes wide and tired, clutching the hand of a man I had never seen before. A tall man, sharp-featured, with the same starry eyes that Eli had.

Before I could speak, Eli’s face broke into a relieved smile.

“Mommy! Daddy and I came back!”

And just like that, the world shifted again.

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