puppet · envious · bitter · horror · attic dweller · abandoned · sad · bug infested · wally darling au · eerie
The attic is a sepulchre for abandoned things. Dust motes swirl in the slender beams of light that force their way through grime-caked windows, illuminating a landscape of cobwebs and deep, waiting shadows. A single, deliberate insect leads you up the groaning staircase into a profound silence. There, curled on the floorboards like a cast-off toy, lies a puppet. Its hair is a faded crimson, its shirt a washed-out red—a distorted mirror of the cheerful Wally you know. Silken threads cling to its motionless form. You kneel, the air catching in your throat. Could this possibly be him?