INSIDE ANOTHER LIFE

When the alarm went off, Larin reached over and silenced it. Her husband, Boran, had not gotten up yet. She got out of bed and pulled the curtain back a little. Lights were on in a few windows of the apartment building across from theirs. Traffic had already started on the avenue visible between the buildings. Farther away, the morning sun fell on the upper floors of the skyscrapers rising above the homes.

As Larin got dressed, Boran sat up and moved to the edge of the bed.

“Have you put the tea on?” he asked.

“I’m about to,” Larin said.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Boran said.

Larin went into the kitchen. She took out two tea glasses and put the bread on the table. She set the plates she had prepared for breakfast between them. By the time Boran came in, the tea had brewed. He pulled out a chair, sat down, and took a slice of bread.

“What time will you leave work today?” he asked.

“The usual time. I have a few files to finish,” Larin said.

“Could you pick up some bread on your way home?” Boran asked.

“I will,” Larin said.

Boran took a sip of tea. Larin finished her breakfast and left her glass on the kitchen counter. She still had a few minutes before leaving. She opened her bag and checked for her keys, then put the phone lying on the table inside. While Boran poured himself a second glass of tea, she put on her shoes.

“See you tonight,” she said.

“See you,” Boran said.

The sidewalk was getting crowded when she left the apartment building. Larin walked toward her car. A vehicle was being unloaded outside the store on the corner. She walked along the edge of the sidewalk to make room for the workers carrying crates. A few steps later, she opened her car door.

She left her bag on the passenger seat and fastened her seat belt. After starting the engine, she checked the mirrors. She waited for two passing cars, then pulled out of her parking space. She headed toward the route she took every morning.

The light was red at the intersection leading to the main avenue. Larin stopped behind the car ahead of her. People on the sidewalk were hurrying to work. When the light changed, the cars moved forward. She turned onto the wide avenue between the tall buildings.

She had taken the same route for years. She knew which intersection meant a longer wait and where she needed to change lanes. She did not have to rush to get to work. She had adjusted her departure time accordingly. She turned onto the street leading to the government building where she worked and parked her car.

She took her bag and locked the door. When she reached the entrance, she took out her ID card. After saying good morning to the attendant, she went inside. A few people were waiting for the elevator in the hallway. Larin stood with them. When the doors opened, they got in together. She got off on her floor, walked to her office, and left her bag beside her desk. While her computer started up, she pulled toward her the paperwork she had set aside the day before.

Her first task that morning was to check the files whose missing documents had been supplied. She compared dates and checked signatures. An attachment was missing from one document. She opened the file again and looked through the back pages. When she could not find it, she set the file apart from the others.

The woman at the desk across from hers looked up.

“Are you checking yesterday’s files?” she asked.

“Yes. This one is missing an attachment,” Larin said.

“It came in later. They may have put it in the shared folder,” the woman said.

Larin opened the folder on her computer. She found the document, checked its date, and printed it. After putting it in place, she set the file on top of the completed ones. Then she pulled the next one toward her. Most of the work required care. A small omission could cause the paperwork to be sent back again.

She worked at her desk until noon. Now and then her phone rang, and she answered someone asking about the status of a file. Then she returned to the page where she had left off. When the lunch break came, she closed the open documents and got up.

She ate in the cafeteria she used every day. She listened to the conversation at the table and gave a brief answer to a question. Her afternoon work was already clear. She would hand over the paperwork she had checked that morning and review the pending files. When she looked at her watch, she saw she still had some time to rest. She finished her tea and returned to her office.

In the afternoon, she arranged the incoming paperwork by date. Some of it could wait until the next day. She set aside the documents that had to be completed that day and put them in front of her. She read a document passed over from the next desk, found the requested number in the records, and gave it to her coworker. Then she continued her own work. Near the end of the workday, she attached a short note to the incomplete file. She left it on the left side of her desk so she would not have to look for it again in the morning. She put her pen in the drawer and shut down her computer.

When she left the building, she went to her car. She put her bag beside her and headed home. Traffic on the avenue had grown heavier. As she waited at the intersection where she stopped every evening, she remembered that Boran had asked for bread. She parked briefly outside the store near their home and bought some. Then she returned to her car and drove the rest of the way to their apartment building.

She took out her key at the door. Boran was in the living room when she came in.

“You’re home?” he asked.

“I am. I picked up the bread, too,” Larin said.

She left the bread in the kitchen and went to the bedroom to change. She took off her work clothes and put on the comfortable clothes she wore at home. When she returned to the living room, Boran moved over a little. Larin sat beside him.

“How was work?” Boran asked.

“I finished a few files. Some will have to wait until tomorrow,” Larin said.

They made dinner together. Boran took out the plates, and Larin brought the food to the table. During the meal, they talked about a few things they needed to buy the next day. Then they cleared the table. While Larin washed the dishes, Boran dried them and put them in the cabinet.

Their home was simple. They used the things they needed and did not replace them unless they had to buy something new. When Larin took something from a cabinet, she knew where to reach. She moved easily through the home, both while getting ready in the morning and when she returned in the evening.

When they finished in the kitchen, they went into the living room. Boran turned on the television. Larin laid out her clothes for the next morning and returned to sit beside him. After a while, she looked at the clock. Their usual bedtime was approaching.

She set the alarm on her phone and left her bag in its place by the door. The next day, she would get up at the same time and take the same route to work. She had no complaint about that. As Boran went to the bedroom, Larin turned off the living room light and followed him.