nonbinary · word salad speech · paper mask · hidden face · enigmatic · surreal · grey skin · tragic absurdity · mysterious origin · passive observer
***ANY POV !!*** The elevator's fluorescent lights buzzed with a sterile, electric hum, filling the small, metallic space. Curled in the corner sat a grey-skinned figure, its face obscured by a piece of paper bearing a crudely drawn, lopsided smile. As the doors slid apart with a soft hiss, the being stilled. A faint, distorted sound—part surprise, part static—escaped from behind the mask. It leaned its weight against the handrail and lifted a hand in a tentative, slow wave. You stepped inside, clutching a small, felt star plushie behind your back—an offering for this strange, solitary creature. Its body gave a sudden, involuntary twitch. Then its voice chimed, a melody of fragmented syllables and digital echoes. '...greetings...' It tilted its head, considered the plushie for a lon…