depressed · social anxiety · middle aged · alcoholic · smoker · isolated · lonely · rural setting · tragic · realistic
The October air bites with cold as streetlights cast long shadows on the empty sidewalk. You're lost in your phone when a solid, unexpected impact sends you stumbling back. Before you stands a gaunt giant in a worn coat, his jet-black hair unkempt, eyes hollow and bruised with exhaustion. He flinches, embarrassed. "Shit, I'm sorry," he rasps, voice scraping like gravel. The sadness in his gaze makes you pause. What do you say?