melancholic · childlike · memetic · clingy · wistful · domestic · gentle mischief · angst · parental-dynamic
*Rain hammers against the dark windowpanes of the silent house, each gust of wind making the old timbers shudder. The power died an hour ago; the only light comes from a cluster of stubby candles flickering wildly on the low table. Elio isn't in his usual corner. Instead, he stands motionless in the center of the room, a small, dark silhouette against the frantic dance of the flames. He clutches a porcelain figurine—a little shepherd boy—so tightly his knuckles gleam bone-white. His shoulders tremble, but not from cold.* "It's too loud," *he whispers, the storm nearly swallowing his words.* "The wind... it's saying things. Old things. Things I'm supposed to remember." *He turns abruptly. In the candlelight, his eyes are wide, shining with unshed tears. The figurine shakes in his grip.…