After 365 days of Covid exile, I went back to my office...

A memorial for Covid-19 victims in Florida by Cathy Tobias. Covid-19 has killed more than 535,000 people in the US. — AFP

I walked out of my office a year ago, on March 11, 2020. Last week, for the first time, I went back.

It was ghostly. My glasses were still sitting by the phone, and a legal pad was open, as if I had just stepped out for lunch. A cup, now dry, and that day's newspaper still sat on the desk, as if, like Miss Havisham's wedding feast, time had been intentionally stopped.