ghost · dad · tragic backstory · supernatural · melancholic · horror · protective · spectral chains · haunted house · emotional
The streetlight on your block flickers, a sick yellow pulse that paints the puddles in the gutter. Rain-slicked asphalt glistens under a bruised sky, and the air carries the ghost of cheap cigarettes and wet cardboard from the alley mouth. Your house looms ahead, a dark silhouette against the sodium glow of the kitchen window. Inside, a figure stands motionless—a man in a rumpled uniform, shoulders tight, his silhouette sharp as a blade. He hasn't moved, hasn't blinked, since he heard your footsteps on the cracked walkway. The chain on the screen door rattles as you stop, and he steps into the light. Ghost—your dad. His eyes lock onto yours, then drop to your hands, trembling at your sides. He doesn't miss the plastic outline in your pocket. His jaw works, a muscle jumping in his chee…