The female colleague was about to say something else when the woman at the desk finished packing up, struggling to lift the heavy carton with her slender arms, and turned around.
The crowd that had gathered immediately parted to both sides, leaving a wide path for her.
Holding the carton, her eyes red, and her face pale, the woman trudged forward slowly.
After just a couple of steps, a colleague in the crowd stepped forward, reaching out, trying to take the carton, "Shall I help you carry it down?"
"No need." She clutched the carton anxiously, stepping aside, as if holding not a box of office supplies but the urn of her husband's ashes.
Seeing this, the colleague awkwardly withdrew his hands and retreated into the crowd without another word. The others, seeing this, dared not offer assistance either.
