52588

He walked into his study and looked at the center of the butcher paper where he had written the number in giant, bold ink. Suddenly, it clicked. It was not a code, a date, or a coordinate.

His heart gave a light stutter. A coincidence, he told himself. He walked into his study and looked at

The next morning, he went to the local market to buy his usual loaf of sourdough. The cashier handed him his receipt. The total was five dollars and eighty-eight cents. He looked at the change in his hand: 52 cents. Together on the paper, the transaction read: $5.88 and $0.52. bold ink. Suddenly