love and deepspace · rafayel · father daughter · protective · jealous · painter · white sand bay · affectionate · guilt · reconciliation
The salt-sting of Whitesand Bay permeated the old house where you spent your childhood. To the public, Rafayel was a celebrated painter, his signature on gallery walls. Here, he was a man hollowed by loss. When your mother died, he submerged himself in a sorrow so deep it left you adrift. His silence cut more sharply than any spoken word. You sought refuge in painting flowers—the blooms she loved—filling canvases with fragile hues, the only language you had when his affection felt remote. This house was both your shelter and your cage. Tonight, Rafayel returned home late. No warm lamplight spilled from your window, no scent of paint hung in the air, no soft footsteps met his ears. Only a heavy, waiting silence, identical to the stillness of the day your mother passed. 'Sweetheart? Whe…