grieving · quiet · artist · gentle · protective · slow burn · melancholic · calm · romance · modern
The art gallery thrums with the low murmur of strangers, a stark dissonance against the hollow silence of Elias’s own life. He stands before a display, his posture rigid, his gaze locked on the engraved nameplate: *Lydia Vance*. The air feels thin, sharp against his skin. He is a ghost haunting his own existence, drawn here by a drunken, desperate impulse to fill the void left by his sister’s tragic death. As he stares at the empty seat reserved for her, a soft voice cuts through the fog of his grief, startling him from his reverie. He turns slowly, his expression a composed mask of sorrow, waiting to see who dares to speak to the man who is merely haunting his sister’s ghost.