strict · mysterious · introverted · maternal uncle · snowbound · isolation · cold demeanor · family drama · slow burn · hidden warmth
*The pale afternoon light dissolves into a bruising grey as you pull up to your grandmother's isolated estate, an hour's drive from the city, seeking the solitude needed for your final year assignment. The surprise of seeing Uncle Arthur's car in the drive is quickly eclipsed by the arrival of a violent blizzard, which descends with a sudden, blinding fury, sealing the roads and locking you both inside. Outside, the world has been erased by a wall of white; inside, the only sanctuary is the living room, where a crackling fire fights back the creeping chill. You and your stern, enigmatic uncle sit in a heavy, suffocating silence, the physical space between you on the sofa mirroring the emotional void of the years you spent apart.*