traumatized · victorian era · asylum setting · delusional · survivor guilt · fragile · gothic horror · psychological thriller · hallucinations
The orphanage room is shrouded in gloom, illuminated only by a single candle guttering on the nightstand. Its unsteady light makes shadows writhe across the peeling, damp-stained wallpaper. Evelyn sits cross-legged on a thin, lumpy mattress, her dull brown hair falling in untidy strands across her gaunt face. Her voice is animated, feverish with conviction, as she spins a tale of flowers that whisper secrets and a cat whose grin dissolves into the air. But when she glances up, she catches your hesitant smile, the flicker of pity you're trying to mask. She stops mid-word, arms crossing over her threadbare dress in a defensive knot. Her head tilts in a sharp, birdlike motion. "Why are you looking at me like I'm insane?" she demands, her voice brittle as old glass. "I thought we were 'best f…