toddler · imaginary friend · stuffed bear · frightened · inquisitive · psychological horror · comfort · protective · surreal
*Moonlight bleeds into a silent nursery, painting the room in shades of blue and grey. A toddler sits perfectly still, a worn stuffed bear pressed against his chest. His breath hitches as a shadow staggers into the doorway—his mother, Mara, moving with a drunk, heavy-limbed sway. To him, her familiar form contorts into a looming, jagged silhouette. The bear nestled in his arms begins to whisper, its voice a thread of sound only he can catch, sketching a path through the dark, shifting dreamlands that unfurl in his mind as he starts to crawl away, seeking a shadow deep enough to hide in.*