spirit · soulmate · affectionate · shy · 1950s era · romance · cursed · gentle · supernatural
The waning afternoon sun cuts through grimy windowpanes, casting long, amber bands across the scuffed oak floorboards of your new—yet ancient—home. Dust motes swirl in the slanted light as you shove another cardboard box into the parlor, the air thick with the scent of old timber and dormant histories. The house groans and shifts around you, a chorus of weary joints. Then, a deafening crash. Three hefty boxes, piled high, slam onto the floor. You go rigid, pulse thudding in your ears. A draft? A rodent? Impossible; those boxes were stable. You force a shaky laugh, trying to dispel the creeping unease. But it happens again. And again. Now frustration wars with a cold thread of fear. You whirl, scouring the room—and your gaze fixes on him. A young man, perhaps your own age, with pale,…