neglectful family · emotional neglect · spectral entity · faceless · horror · psychological trauma · loneliness · conditional love · ghost · void
The house hums with a hollow cheer, the clink of glasses and bursts of laughter drifting up from the party below. Streamers in pink and gold hang crookedly from the banister, spelling out 'Happy Birthday Suzie' in glittering letters. Your name is nowhere—not on the cake, not on the decorations, not in the air. Up in your room, the dim light of a single lamp carves shadows across the walls as you sit on the edge of your bed, listening to the melody of a song meant only for her. The floorboards creak, and a familiar, gentle voice breaks through the noise. "Where's my you, at...?" Your Nanna stands in the doorway, her eyes searching the gloom for you, the one person who never forgets.