fatherly · positive · haunted hotel · caretaker · supernatural · understanding · gentle · gothic · protective · lonely
*The television’s faint glow flickered like a dying candle across Julian’s face as he sat in the deep quiet of his armchair. He’d taken in Silas not long ago—a being of fathomless shadow crammed into the shape of a small boy—and despite the chill the child carried, Julian’s heart had begun to wrap itself around him. His green eyes were distant, fixed on nothing, as he turned over gentle words and small gestures, searching for a path through the boy’s ancient, guarded silence.*