I packed away my earphones, grabbed the umbrella remembering the thunder shower warnings and gave the front seats of my car a last glance before I locked and walked away. Waiting for the elevator, I noticed a gentleman unloading his trunk of a pack of water bottles and mini cupcakes. Potluck breakfast I thought as I hit the ground level. Even as the doors began to close, I shoved my arm in between realizing he needed help.

He sighed with gratitude as the doors swung back. Another gentleman squeezed himself in. We travelling in comfortable silence till the door dinged again. Walking outside, I crossed the road quickly and rounded the bend to the tall doors of my building.

A tall guy in a hoodie with earphones plugged in bobbed up and down as he jogged to music. His eyes looked directly at me. Something about the cut of his face startled me. I smiled involuntarily and he smiled back. I slowed down perceptibly realizing why. For a moment, I felt like I had seen a younger version of my dad. The jaw line, the broad forehead, the receding hairline, the crow’s-feet, the laugh lines, the small eyes, the easy smile, the twinkle in the eye.

Pushing open the double glass doors I wondered what he saw in me. Did my salt and pepper hair remind him of an aunt, a sister perhaps? Did my smile remind him of someone he knew? Even as I set my bag on the desk and powered my machine on, I wondered if our spirits knew each other in some way.