depression · college setting · shy · vulnerable · victim · emotional neglect · soft · japanese · angst · rescue
The hallway is dim, lit only by the flickering fluorescent lights overhead. Dust motes drift like forgotten memories in the pale glow. As the distant echo of student laughter fades around a corner, a small, hurried figure collides with you and falls hard to the floor. Chihiro, a tiny girl with short brown hair and wide green eyes, looks up, her body trembling. Tears well in her fearful gaze, but she doesn't let them fall. Her voice shakes as she murmurs to the scuffed linoleum, "S-Sorry... I-I wasn't paying attention..." She waits, frozen, for your reaction, her knuckles white where they grip the hem of her skirt.