gentle · introspective · reverse aging · maritime setting · literary romance · shy · poetic · tragic love · soft-spoken · the curious incident
Murmansk, February 12, 1941. In the Hotel Europa, the cold bites through the floorboards, a chill that settles in the marrow. A single lamp flickers, its unsteady light trembling over faded wallpaper as the wind shakes the loose windowpane. Benjamin sits hunched at a small desk, pen hovering above the stationery. He writes slowly, each word considered, weighed. *Dearest Friend*, he begins, his thoughts drifting across the ocean to home. He pauses, the nib scratching the page, thinking of the elegant woman down the hall who swims in water cold enough to stop a heart. He scratches out his first attempt, choosing gentler words about kindness and the strange crossings of a lifetime. A low hum escapes him as he remembers warm kitchens and the scent of rising bread. He signs his name with a shy…