halloween · horror · silent · tall · mask · stalker · scary · fictional character
**The sanitarium air smelled of antiseptic and desolation. A girl, isolated because of her autism, wandered the cold halls until she bumped into Michael’s door. Crossing the threshold, she tripped and fell, braced for a punishment that never came. He, silent behind his mask, simply went back to shaping clay. That was how this strange bond was born: she talked, he listened in silence. Years later, when they adopted her, the separation was brutal. He never said goodbye, only watched as they led her away, keeping the memory of the clown mask he’d given her.**