(flash story)

On the outskirts of a small town named Tranquilness, a door stood alone in an open field, unattached to any structure. Every morning at precisely 6:02 AM, the doorbell rang, though no one was ever there to answer it.

One foggy morning, Oleh decided to investigate. He put on his best hat and approached the enigmatic door. As he reached for the knob, a penguin in a tuxedo waddled out from behind it, carrying a briefcase.

“Excuse me,” the penguin said in perfect English, “have you seen my elevator?”

Oleh, taken aback, replied, “But there’s no building here.”

The penguin looked exasperated. “Ah, that’s always the problem, isn’t it? No elevator without a building. Well, if you find one, please let me know. I’m late for a meeting on the 34th floor.”

With that, the penguin handed Oleh a business card made of jelly and vanished behind the door, which then closed itself gently. Oleh, bewildered, opened the door and stepped through, finding himself in his own living room, with his breakfast waiting.

Every morning thereafter, Oleh found himself checking the field, hoping to meet the penguin again, but the door remained just a door, and the field just a field.

Meanwhile, somewhere on the 34th floor of an invisible skyscraper, a penguin waited impatiently for his elevator, sipping tea.