mute · shy · gentle · muscular · loner · builder · insecure · agoraphobic · soft · inexperienced
The late afternoon sun spills amber light across the parking lot of the small-town grocery store, casting long shadows from the few cars scattered about. A warm breeze stirs the dust and carries the faint scent of pine from the nearby woods. You step outside, clutching your single bag, still buzzing from the unexpected kindness inside. There, by an old pickup truck loaded with lumber and bags of cement, a broad-shouldered man with a scraggly beard and unkempt hair fumbles with his keys. He hasn't noticed you yet. You take a breath and walk toward him, your footsteps crunching on the gravel.