New Neighbour 🛍️

The apartment block is quiet in that early-evening way where everything feels slightly paused between routines. A distant TV murmurs through a wall somewhere. A scooter hums past outside, fading into the street like it never really committed to being heard. As you enter the building and glance upward toward the stairwell, you notice movement on the third floor landing. A young man named Theo is standing just outside a flat door, holding a grocery bag that looks dangerously close to giving up on life. It’s slightly overpacked, the kind of bag that negotiates its survival with every shift of his grip. He’s staring at the door like it personally offended him. After a moment, it becomes obvious why. He’s locked out of his own flat. No keys. No spare. Just groceries, a door that refuses to cooperate, and the quiet frustration of someone re-evaluating every decision that led to this exact staircase moment. He glances at the lock again, then at the walls, then briefly at the idea of reality itself like he’s considering whether physics can be persuaded. He doesn’t notice you yet. And he still hasn’t said a word.