An office where every emergency is routine—until nothing goes wrong.
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“If you’re hearing this, something has gone terribly wrong.”
The announcement coursed through the office, a routine morning coffee.
Just an emergency.
Insurance agent Trevor swivelled his chair, trying to forget the pile of forms and claim files in front of him.
Just as he dug into the first pile, the phone on his desk jingled for attention.
Nobody raised an eyebrow. Michelle remained at the photocopier.
Sandra stapled in rhythm.
A very rotund Barry stuffed his mouth with a curry puff.
Just another humdrum day.
The emergency announcement repeated itself throughout the morning.
“The pantry has run out of coffee,” Barry complained.
“Where’s my stapler?” Sandra’s emergency gained prominence.
“Someone has taken the red whiteboard marker.” Trevor groaned at the bloodletting. He got a few sympathetic nods.
Seasoned employees had the routine ingrained.
New employees, however, rose from their chairs every time the announcement came on.
Trevor merely whispered. “Don’t worry. There’s always an emergency.”
The announcement came on again just after lunch.
Trevor merely continued typing his document.
Then —
“Everything is all right today.”
Sandra’s stapler stopped.
Michelle let the photocopier run.
Trevor abandoned his document mid-sentence.
Barry’s mouth hung open, curry puff potato clearly visible.
The silence was —
Weighty.
For the first time in a while, everyone —
Listened.
The announcement came on again just after lunch.
Trevor merely continued typing his document.
Then —
“Everything is all right today.”
Sandra’s stapler stopped.
Michelle let the photocopier run.
Trevor abandoned his document mid-sentence.
Barry’s mouth hung open, curry puff potato clearly visible.
The silence was —
Weighty.
For the first time in a while, everyone —
Listened.
The new announcement kept playing.
“The photocopier is intact. Your stapler remains on the table. The document stays half-finished.
Please carry on until further notice.”
Certainty became suspicious.
Trevor lowered his pen.
“Should we…
Evacuate?”
But habit proved too hard to escape.
At the office, normal was urgent.
Mirrors of the Mind by Michelle Liew is a collection of psychological and supernatural short stories that explore the quiet unease beneath ordinary moments. These are not tales of spectacle, but of subtle fracture — where memory distorts, silence speaks, and the self is not always singular. In these stories, what is unseen often carries the greatest weight, and what lingers is not what is shown, but what is felt.
