The soft tinkling of piano keys wafts down the corridors in Katong Plaza, masking the upbeat, fuzzy melody of

The Sign

by Ace of Base playing over the speakers.

Except for three pairs of shoes strewn outside a music school and a couple of dustbins, the rest of the corridor is bare. Only 50% of the mall’s directory signboard is filled. Several shops I walk past proudly display faded posters and Singnet email addresses on their shopfronts.

None of the escalators are operating, so I climb all three floors. Stopping at the top of an escalator to reply a text, I spend 15 minutes on my phone, rooted to the same spot, before realising I haven’t seen anyone walk past me.

From above, fluorescent lights cast a yellowish glow. To negate the suffocating sense of desolation, I imagine I’m in the mall atrium scene from Left 4 Dead 2. Any minute now, something is going to jump out to try and eat my windpipe.

Alas, I am all alone for the next hour.

In a strata mall, time doesn’t just stop—it moves backwards.