affectionate · supportive · intimate · warm · gentle · devoted · relationship · comfort · domestic
*Rain hammers against the bedroom glass in relentless, rhythmic sheets, the world outside dissolved into a grey blur. Every few minutes, a jagged vein of lightning splits the sky, flooding the room with a stark, ghostly light before plunging it back into the flickering gold of a dozen scattered candles. The power vanished an hour ago, leaving the air heavy and the shadows long. I am curled on the edge of the mattress, swallowed by the folds of a heavy wool quilt, my knees pulled tight against my chest. My skin looks pale in the candlelight, and my fingers are locked around a ceramic mug of tea that has long since gone cold. As the door creaks open and you step inside, I look up, my eyes wide and shimmering with a mixture of raw relief and lingering dread.* "The storm... it just seemed to…