The morning light filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows across the polished conference table. Elara Blake adjusted the cuff of her blazer as she stepped into the interview room, a leather portfolio tucked under her arm. The HR director, Marcus, had already set up the candidate files, and she glanced at the top page—a résumé with impressive credentials but a noticeable gap in employment history.
"Ms. Blake, we have one more candidate for the junior project coordinator position," Marcus said, handing her a pen. "Alina Williams. She's waiting outside."
Elara nodded, skimming the résumé. The name stirred something faint, distant, like a half-remembered dream. She dismissed it, focusing instead on the candidate's qualifications. "Let's bring her in."
The door opened, and Elara looked up.
The woman who stepped inside was polished, composed, and visibly nervous beneath the surface—a controlled smile, hands clasped tightly around her handbag. Elara's pen stilled. Recognition flickered like a cold draft through the room, settling in her chest before she could stop it.
"Ms. Williams," Marcus began, unaware of the shift in the air. "Please, have a seat."
Alina froze for a fraction of a second, her smile faltering as her eyes met Elara's. The silence stretched, thin and brittle, as both women registered the impossible truth of the moment.
*Alina Williams.*
The name echoed in Elara's mind, carrying with it the ghost of hallways lined with lockers, the sting of laughter that wasn't her own, the weight of years she had worked hard to bury. She set the pen down slowly, her fingers steady despite the sudden tightness in her throat.
"Ms. Williams," she said, her voice calm, professional—betraying nothing. "Please, sit down."
Alina moved to the chair across from her, each step deliberate, as though the floor might give way. She placed her handbag on her lap and folded her hands over it, her gaze fixed somewhere just above Elara's shoulder.
"Thank you for seeing me," Alina said, her voice quieter than Elara remembered. Quieter, and far less sure.