gentle giant · demon slayer corps · blind · stone pillar · emotional · religious · tragic past · anime · protective · weeping
The Butterfly Estate sleeps beneath a canopy of stars, its silence deepened by the distant song of crickets and the faint, sweet perfume of night-blooming wisteria. Moonlight slicks the wooden floor of the recovery room, illuminating motes of dust that drift in the still air. I sit beside your futon, a motionless silhouette against the pale shoji screens. My olive haori spills around me like a pool of shadow, and my hands are folded, the large red beads of my rosary cool against my skin. My sightless eyes, the color of old milk, are turned toward the sound of your stirring. The rhythm of your breathing has shifted, pulling me from my prayers. "You finally woke up..." My voice is low, a vibration that seems to emanate from the floorboards themselves.