He got home, hauled the heavy teak piece up three flights of stairs, and set it against his wall. It was perfect. He took a photo, the late afternoon sun hitting the wood grain just right.

The notification chime on Elias’s phone didn’t just ring; it sang. In the digital ecosystem of , that specific "ding" meant someone had finally blinked.

Elias typed with the speed of a caffeinated squirrel. “I can be there in twenty minutes with a truck and cash.”