You should keep the key on you and when they ask about it, visibly hide it in a creaky drawer while melodramatically taking a deep breath

That’s quite kind of you. And interestingly, despite you clearly communicating an open invitation for interaction, I still encounter internal resistance, almost like a reflex… which suggests it is still very much a personal issue, and not a cultural one.

Thank you for this moment of reflection, mysterious internet person.

This. I’d rather die alone than risk even the slightest possibility of making someone else uncomfortable.

why yes I am in therapy how did you know