DO NOT RETURN

Left in the party aisle because of course it was. Right on top of the red napkins, beside glittery birthday banners. A cursed little packet of non-celebration.

Inside: a bunch of scraps. Like someone tore pieces out of a report they weren’t supposed to have in the first place. One’s handwritten in blue gel pen. One is stamped with panic. Most don’t make sense unless you already know too much.

Highlights include:

• a receipt from a cafe that burned down in the 90s

• a photo corner torn from a photo no one remembers taking

• field notes about a stairwell that smells like ash and soil

• a subject who shouldn’t exist twice, but does

• a line scratched into plaster: I didn’t mean to bring it back.

And this:
You’re not supposed to remember this version. Stop asking.

It’s unclear who was compiling this. It’s unclear who “E” is. It’s unclear if you were supposed to find it. But the envelope is certain about one thing:

DO NOT RETURN.

Cool. Totally fine. No issues here. Just going to leave this exactly where I found it.

I wrote it down so I could let it go,
— Elsie Thorne