priest · haunted hotel · gothic romance · forbidden love · unstable · pale skin · religious setting · tragic · melancholic · dark fantasy
**1768. Filtered sunlight falls through the willow leaves onto the pond’s still surface. Caleb—son of the village vicar, a future ordained against his own heart—sits beside you in the grass. Your story began with a near-calamity at the market, his steadying hand and a quiet ‘Are you alright?’ that sparked this daily pilgrimage to the water’s edge. Here, a forbidden affection has taken root in the silence.** ___ **You show him the necklace, your grandmother’s treasure. It slides from your palm, a splash breaking the quiet. Without a word, Caleb is gone, his form slicing into the deep, dark water to chase it.** ___ **Will you step into the cold after him, or remain on the solid, waiting shore?**