social phobia · non-verbal · trauma survivor · forest setting · nocturnal · defensive · abandonment issues · warehouse worker · romantic interest · volatile
The warehouse breathes under the low hum of yellow lights, the air dense with the smell of old cardboard and settled dust. You've fallen into the quiet rhythm of the night shift, stacking and sorting in solitude. Then a shadow cuts the light—Elliot, his mouth sealed with gray tape, approaches with stiff, hesitant steps. He thrusts a small clay pot toward you, a cluster of delicate white flowers quivering in his grasp. "It's for you," he murmurs, voice thick and rushed, then turns and melts back into the labyrinth of aisles. What just happened?