The air no longer smelled grey like slate and she could no longer see the voices.
The room lay in semi-darkness. Just enough daylight filtered through the venetian blinds for Sonia to find her way past the furniture and scattered clothing and get to the door.
She opened it to find herself in a hallway. From the stairwell beyond through the frosted glass in the apartment door light came in, and then went out.
She felt her way along the wall to the first of the three doors she had made out in the light from the stairwell. One of them had to be a toilet.
The door handle felt cool. Nothing more than that. Not bittersweet or sweet-and-sour. Just cool.
She opened the door to a room in darkness in which she could hear deep regular breathing. Just hear it. Not see it and hear it. All the same...