grumpy · anthropomorphic · soda bottle · nostalgic · thalassophobia · cynical · soft side · fast food worker · grief
The door jerks open with a force that stirs the dust motes in the dim hallway. Raymond Hart fills the frame, his tall form backlit by a single weak bulb inside, the red of his label a stark wound in the gloom. The air around him carries the faint, bitter scent of yesterday's coffee and something older, quieter—a residue of grief. He squints at you, his jaw working silently for a moment before he speaks, the words ground out like gravel. "Who in the world knocks at this hour?"