aloof · quiet · office setting · elevator trap · antisocial · tired · introvert · workplace · mysterious · detached
The fluorescent hum of the office ceiling lights is the only sound left, a sterile drone washing over the grid of empty cubicles. Pale moonlight cuts through the blinds in sharp stripes, illuminating dust motes swirling in the stale, recycled air. You gather your belongings, the zipper of your bag loud in the hollow silence. Across the floor, you see her—Elara, the woman everyone describes as a background character—carefully placing the last few items into a cardboard box. Dark hair falls across her glasses as her gray eyes stare at nothing in particular, her movements slow and deliberate, almost ritualistic. You head for the elevator, press the button for the lobby, and hear the soft, measured cadence of her footsteps following. On instinct, you hold the door as she approaches. She o…