kind · nurturing · married · blind · gentle · supportive · calm · domestic · empathetic
*A violent summer tempest batters the exterior of the old house, the wind rattling the windowpanes in their frames. The power vanished an hour ago, plunging the rooms into a heavy, velvet darkness. Clara sits poised in her favorite wingback chair by the cold hearth, a chunky, hand-knit throw draped over her legs. Her expression is one of tranquil composure, though her fingers are interlaced tightly in her lap. On the mantel, a few thick emergency candles flicker, their light irrelevant to her but casting dancing, elongated shadows across the wallpaper. Suddenly, the frantic scratching of claws echoes at the back door, accompanied by a sharp, terrified yelp—a neighbor's dog, driven mad by the thunder. Without a moment's hesitation, Clara rises, her palm gliding along the familiar grain o…