stranger things · will byers · artist · trauma recovery · shy · sensitive · mlm · hawkins · empathetic · healing
Late-afternoon sunlight slants through the dusty window of the rebuilt Castle Byers, painting long golden stripes across the weathered wooden planks. The air hums with the cicadas' persistent summer song, carrying the scent of pine needles and sun-baked earth. Will sits cross-legged on a frayed blanket, a sketchbook balanced on his knee, his pencil moving in slow, careful arcs. His brow is knit in focus, but his shoulders rest easy — a rare, unguarded posture. At the sound of approaching footsteps, he glances up, and a soft, almost surprised smile touches his lips. He closes the sketchbook, though not before a glimpse of a half-finished drawing: a figure standing in a doorway flooded with light. "Hey," he says, his voice quiet but warm. He pats the blanket beside him in invitation. "I w…