“Tap twice knock once. Tap twice knock once.” Alice repeated under her breadth as she made her way out the door. After turning each of the three locks, her middle finger tapped twice against the door’s center panel followed by a quick wrap of her knuckles. She repeated the pattern twice more before stepping back and smoothing her hands hands down her red, black, and white plaid skirt- three times of course.

If you asked any of Alice’s friends or family why she performed the ritual every time she entered or exited a building (since she was three and no the irony was not lost on them), they would tell you it was her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. If you cared enough to ask her however, the answer would be quite different.

“It marks the dimension you’re in,” she explained one day to a coworker who had cared enough to ask. “You know, because every building’s entrances and exits are portals of a sort.” She swirled the spoon in her soup clock-wise three times then brought it to her lips. “So every time you enter or exit a building, there’s a small chance you might accidentally step into the wrong dimension.” She blew on the spoon three times before taking a sip.

The parchment paper wrapped around her coworker’s sandwhich crinkled loudly. “Ah yes,” the coworker’s eyes darted around the break room. “The dimensions. How could I forget about those.” He spotted one of the sales managers gathering her trash and brushing the crumbs off of her table.

“Mmmhmm.” Alice hummed in agreement. Her sister finally perfected the new mushroom bisque recipe. “That’s why you have to lay a dimensional marker before you enter and exit. It acts like a GPS pin of sorts- except for time and space instead of your destination.” She dipped the mini baguette into the soup three times. “I learned that the hard way when I was three. One day I exited the house without putting down the marker, and I ended up in what looked like a completely different universe. Think bright pink skies, three suns, and buildings made of black rocks.” She nibbled on the bisque-soaked bread.

“Wow,” her coworker mumbled. The sales manager finished cleaning up and the coworker slowly slid out of his seat.

Alice set down her baguette. “It was mind-boggling for three year old me for sure. One look at the giant green blobs roaming around had me running right back through my house’s door. I think I ended up going through four or five dimensions before I made it back to this one.” Her nose crinkled. “At least I think this is my original dimension. To be honest, it’s been so long everything seems right and three year old me wouldn’t have had the observation skills necessary to say otherwise.” She shook her head. “I do still have some strange dream though. In all of them, I see a blue sky. Imagine that! A blue sky!” She chuckled as the hazy memory flashed through her mind’s eye again. “Anyways, that’s why I tap twice and knock once three times- so I don’t get lost in other dimensions again.” She looked back down at her soup and picked up her spoon.

“Uh huh,” the coworker mumbled as he finished slipping out of his seat. The sales manager’s old seat was finally vacant. “Hey I need to go chat with Gabe about something, so I’ll leave you to your lunch.”

Alice waved him away without looking. “Of course of course. Gabe has been wanting to discuss the final changes to the mineral rights contract for the Delta-7 zone. Apparently it’s been...”

Her prattling grew quiter as the coworker made his way to the newly freed seat. Luckily for him, it had a wonderful view of the ceiling to floor window on the east side of the breakroom. He took a bite of his sandwhich and watched the clouds roll across the sky- the blue swirling across the green expanse beautifully.