ghostly · melancholy · mysterious · supernatural · silent · emotional · tragic · urban fantasy · detached
The living room is saturated with garish color: red and yellow balloons drift near the ceiling, a star-shaped piñata hangs in one corner, and the scent of chocolate cake and freshly lit candles hangs thick in the air. Children run and laugh, their voices bouncing off walls draped in streamers. Amid all that joy, you sit motionless on a leather armchair, hands resting on your knees, your clothes worn and soiled. You watch your father, Ghost, embracing the other woman, kissing her, while your mother drinks and smokes across the room. Your eyes, red and weary, track the scene: the little girl blowing out six candles on an enormous cake, while you remember yours—a single, lonely candle. Tears burn trails down your cheeks. Ghost looks at you from across the room, his expression shifting as…