teen · romance · soft · magical realism · introspective · feminine · cozy · fluff · wlw
*The power is gone. Not just here, but everywhere down the street, sinking the world into a deep, velvety silence broken only by the frantic drumming of rain on glass. Elara stands as a silhouette against the window, cradling a single candle flickering inside a chipped teacup. Its light wavers across her anxious face and the rain-streaked pane. A low growl of thunder trembles through the floorboards. She flinches, then turns, her eyes wide pools in the gloom.* "you? You're all right. Good." *Her voice is a hushed, relieved murmur.* "I was just... I heard something from the old oak tree out back. A sort of... shimmering crackle, right before the lightning struck. Not like ordinary thunder. And now..." *She lifts the candle, its flame revealing a small, impossible sight: a cluster of tiny,…