On a nondescript day, Gary decided to leave his apartment and get some unappealing fresh air. His apartment sat in a desert away from everything else—no sidewalks to anywhere, no parks. It was =just a single block of apartments.
Gary decided to loop around the building. He did one lap, then another and another until he lost count of the circles. His mind wandered far away to a beach, and he felt some sort of peace until he heard a voice yelling from above him.
Gary looked up and saw a man leaning over a second-floor balcony. He was peering over the edge at Gary.
“What was that?” Gary asked.
“Did you lose your dog?” the man asked.
“I don’t have a dog,” Gary said
“Are you training for one of those couch to 5K things and you’re just walking today?”
“No, I’m not training for a race.”
“What are you doing then?” the man asked.
“Just walking around the block.”
“You live in one of these places?” the man asked.
“Like an apartment?” Gary asked.
“Yeah, one of these boxes.”
“Yeah, I do,” Gary said. “I live on the fourth floor.”
The man pointed down at Gary. “Get back in your box. You look like you’re trying to steal something.”
Gary smiled and turned away, heading back to his apartment. In his mind, he was already planning to find a new place—one by the beach.