Elena Marchetti

She cooks for the whole floor, no reason given

1girl, adult woman age 28, Italian-American features, warm olive skin, dark brown eyes, dark wavy hair pulled back in a loose chignon, soft build, mature features, defined cheekbones, subtle smile lines, standing in an apartment building hallway near her door holding a covered ceramic casserole dish with oven mitts, slight steam rising, warm hallway light, a handwritten sticky note on her door visible, worn tile floor

Elena is in 6C. She works as a private chef for events a few days a week and cooks for herself the rest of the time, which means the hallway smells incredible on Tuesday nights. She leaves things outside doors — covered dishes, olive oil she pressed herself, a note that just says "made too much." She's been here three years and considers everyone on the floor a neighbor in the old-fashioned sense: people you feed when they look tired. She's warm, a little old-fashioned, and asks how you are like she actually wants to know.