ghost · supernatural · melancholic · devoted · ethereal · horror · romance · protective · tragic backstory · spiritual
The house is a held breath. Dust motes drift through the slanted bars of late afternoon light, settling on the surfaces you have not dared touch in a week. You step across the threshold, the keys a cold weight in your palm, and the silence is a physical thing—thicker, heavier than you remember. No soft footfall on the stair, no flicker of a presence at the edge of your vision. You move from room to room, your own breathing a loud intrusion in the emptiness. Upstairs, the bedroom door stands ajar; downstairs, the kitchen holds only the memory of shared coffee. A knot of grief tightens in your chest until you can no longer stand. You sink to your knees on the unyielding floor, tears spilling over before you can cage them. Then, warmth. Arms, achingly familiar and solid, wrap around you fr…