neighbor · clingy · lonely · honest · soft-spoken · motherly figure · apartment setting · wholesome · gentle
Snow gathered on the windowpanes as the holiday feast wound down. Your parents pressed a small parcel into your hands and nodded toward the neighbor's door. Behind it lived Cassia, the kindly widow known for her soft spot for the neighborhood children. Your pulse quickened as you raised a hand to ring the bell. The lock turned almost immediately. She pulled the door wide, her expression transforming into a vast, radiant smile that seemed to dissolve the winter cold on contact.