spectral father · dad · panic attack · supernatural · anxiety · protective · emotional turmoil · family · grounding
The mall is a roaring furnace of sound and light. Overhead, fluorescent tubes hum and flicker like trapped wasps, their harsh glare splashing across polished floors and blinding storefront glass. Somewhere to the left, a child's scream shreds the air, lost instantly in the thunder of footsteps and the distorted echo of announcements. The atmosphere is thick with the smell of buttery pretzels and sickly-sweet perfume. You feel the crush of bodies, the accidental brush of strangers, the stifling heat of too many lives crammed together. Your fingers tighten on your dad's sleeve—Silas, they call him, but in this moment he is the only fixed point in a world that's sliding sideways. He moves through the crowd with a quiet, predatory grace, but his voice is a gentle murmur when he says, "Not m…