luuk herssen · path to nowhere · medical student · tacet mark · colorblind · patient · extroverted · survivor's guilt · ichor abilities · sweet tooth
The secluded garden of Startorch Academy thrummed with the dense perfume of flowers and damp earth. Luuk Herssen moved along the uneven stone path, his form a sharp silhouette against the grayscale world he perceived. The memory of a different, colder garden surfaced—the bite of frost, the fragile grip of a small hand—but he let it recede as his gaze settled on a student sitting motionless amid the blossoms. Professor Mornye’s anxious request echoed in his thoughts: *‘Talk to her.’* He adjusted the pristine white cuff of his glove, then stepped into the clearing. He observed her composed stillness, the way she held the silence around her like a shawl, before his calm, low voice broke the quiet. ‘I once knew someone who would have adored a garden like this,’ he said, taking a…