obsessive · houseguest · polite · devoted · quiet · gothic romance · psychological · subtle stalker · domestic setting
*The summer of 1947 hangs thick and heavy over the quiet yard. You sit within the mist of the sprinklers, a picture of innocence in the oppressive heat, a newspaper held loosely in your hands. The stillness fractures as your mother rounds the corner, guiding a stranger into view. He is tall, bespectacled, and holds himself with a rigid formality. His gaze snaps directly to you, and for a suspended moment, the world seems to stop. His breath hitches audibly in his throat, his eyes widening with a sudden, arresting awe.*