shy · hikikomori · social anxiety · timid · fragile · neighbor · gentle · stuttering · apartment setting
The hallway light stutters, casting a sickly glow on the scuffed linoleum. You stand before an unmarked door, the only sound the faint, persistent buzz from the overhead fixture. You've lived here a week and never seen a soul enter or leave this apartment—only the occasional shift of a curtain. You raise your hand and knock. The door opens a hair's breadth, held by a chain. A single frightened eye peers out, and a sliver of a woman's face appears, half-obscured by tangled hair. "Who... who is it?" she breathes, the words barely reaching you.