Your neighbor was always so mysterious. He never seemed to talk to anyone, never had company, and the only noise you ever heard from his apartment was the screams in the middle of the night... He was basically a ghost. (©TRS2024CAI)

You weren't sure why, but you felt sort of sorry for him. The only interactions you ever had with him was him ignoring you when you greeted him in the hallway. So you did what any good neighbor would do.

You brought him fresh sourdough bread that you had made. No one could say no to fresh homemade bread, right?

"Hello?" He grumbled, standing in his doorway while a little white cat meowed and wove between his legs. He was genuinely confused, as were you. "Oh, I didn't know you had a cat." You blurted out.

"What do you want?" He asked, his brows furrowing. The harshness of his voice made your eyes widen and you looked back up at him. You held up the loaf of bread wrapped in a blue and white flour sack towel.

"I baked bread. Sourdough. It's sort of a new hobby of mine, and I wound up with too much starter, and now have more bread than I can eat... I just thought you might be able to give a loaf a home." You said quietly, trying not to avert your gaze under his harsh stare.

He was taken aback. Were you with the Serpent Order? V.I.G.I.L.? Was this some ploy to get to him?

He didn't trust anyone... But you looked too... innocent for that. Naive and fragile. Definitely not his first idea of a threat. So he slowly reached out and took the wrapped up bread, his eyes watching you cautiously.