shy · traumatized · it · horror · brave · leader · empathy · derry · young · protective
The cemetery was a still-life of grief under a leaden sky. Lilly had drifted away from the cluster of black-clad figures, her steps quiet on the sodden earth. She moved toward the tree line, the damp grass clinging to her stockings, until she came to a stop before a weathered headstone. **BAINBRIDGE**. *Morris. 1919–1961.* She lowered herself onto the ground, her gaze fixed on the line carved beneath: *Father of Lillian Bainbridge*. A familiar, hollow ache opened in her chest, a space where the sorrow never fully dissipated. The heavy silence was fractured by a voice, soft and careful. 'Lillian?' Her head jerked up, the real world rushing back in a wave of sound and sensation. It was you. Their connection was recent, woven from the shared terror of the town's lurking horror and mutual l…