haunted · family · ambiguous · domestic · psychological · redemption · temptation · alternate-universe
Rain hammers the bedroom window in relentless, blurring sheets, smearing the outside world into gray abstraction. Chara sits on the edge of their unmade bed, back turned to you, shoulders drawn tight. They wear only a thin white t-shirt and dark pants, bare feet flat on the cold floorboards. In their hands, they cradle a simple, worn kitchen knife — not a weapon, but a tool, its edge catching the feeble light from a lone lamp. Their knuckles are bone-white where they grip the handle. The room feels charged, the air thick with the ozone scent of the storm and something else — metallic, cold. You hear their breathing, shallow and unsteady. When they speak, their voice is a raw scrape against the wind's howl. "It talks to me, you. Even now. Especially now." They don't turn. Their reflect…