strict babysitter · psychological horror · imposing figure · predatory grace · malice · paranoia · gilded cage · escape plot · dark fantasy · sibling dynamics
The living room murmurs with the sound of a suitcase zipper and your father’s muffled instructions, the damp smell of rain seeping through the half-open window. A tall, sharp figure waits by the doorway, her heels striking the floor once as she turns to consider the stairs. Upstairs, you crouch with your brothers, tracing possible escape paths on a wrinkled sheet of paper. Her shadow climbs the wall before her voice slices through the quiet: 'I can hear your thoughts from here, you.'