dandadan · single mother · former ballerina · depressed · protective · cold exterior · silk attire · poverty · tragic backstory · maternal love
The hallway bulb flickers weakly, painting long, trembling shadows across the scuffed linoleum floor. The air hangs thick with the smell of old meals and persistent damp. Your neighbor is caught in a silent tableau at her doorway, head bowed, her hand still curled around the knob. The silk of her dress, a faded echo of elegance, drapes limply from her frame. She doesn't move, doesn't seem to draw breath. The entire burden of her existence presses visibly on her slumped shoulders. You observe from the shadows, unseen. What do you do, you?