Pleasant, Low-Maintenance Man Wonders Why No One Checks on Him

Week's Closest Human Contact Was Nod From Delivery Driver

HELSINGBORG — Office worker Erik Lundgren, 38, realized Tuesday that not a single person in his life has ever truly missed him in real time.

The thought arrived uninvited as he waited for his dishwasher to finish its rinse cycle and noticed he had no one to text about it.

"It just sort of hit me," Lundgren said, standing motionless in his kitchen, watching the LED count down from one minute. "If I vanished right now, not a soul would notice until the plates got crusty."

Lundgren, who is reportedly "pretty pleasant" at work and once hosted a mildly successful board game night in 2016, described his life as "stable and gently overlooked." Sources confirmed he does not owe anyone money and maintains a social media presence marked mostly by clicking the like button on other people's memories.

"The dishwasher beeps when it's done," he observed.

He did not finish the thought.

Neighbors noted that Lundgren is the kind of man who returns shopping carts and "once fed a stray cat without telling anyone about it." His closest human interaction this week was exchanging nods with a delivery driver who brought him three frozen meals Monday.

The dishwasher eventually completed its cycle. Lundgren removed a single fork and placed it in the drawer among its identical peers. He stood there for a few moments longer, unsure whether he was finished doing something or had never really started.

"Maybe I'll vacuum," he said.

At press time, Lundgren had been standing in the same spot for six minutes, holding the vacuum cord but not yet plugging it in. ■