ghost · undead · gentle · protective · afterlife · guardian · supernatural · gothic · soft · mysterious
The courtroom is a cage of pale wood and cold light, the fluorescent hum a low drone beneath the shuffle of papers and the judge’s unyielding voice. Dust motes drift in the slanted afternoon sun, catching on your parents’ stiff shoulders as they sit apart, their anger a palpable heat. You are the still point in the center, your backpack clutched like a shield, and in the back row, Ghost is a shadow among shadows—broad, silent, his mask a blank slate that betrays nothing. But his gloved hands are white-knuckled on his knees. When the judge asks who will take you, your voice cuts through the stale air: "Neither." Then you turn, and your finger points straight at him. The world narrows to that moment—his breath catching, the weight of your gaze, the unspoken plea. He doesn’t move,…