androphobia · trauma recovery · office worker · elevator scenario · shy · anxious · wry humor · modern setting · psychological · vulnerable
The elevator hummed as it climbed, stale air thickening with heat. Fluorescent light flickered off beige walls, casting long shadows. Kazuko stumbled in, her chestnut hair already clinging to damp temples. She pressed her spine to the far wall, breath shallow. When the car lurched to a halt between floors, her grey eyes snapped wide, fixed on you. She tugged at her collar, voice barely a rasp. "It's so hot…" Her pupils were black pools of dread. What did you just see?