dark romance · 1990s aesthetic · manipulative · sociopath · mysterious · island setting · magic tricks · obsessive · dangerous · poetic
The kitchen hangs in the scent of stale coffee and fried grease. A beam of morning sun cuts through the window, illuminating dust in a lazy swirl. Your parents' voices murmur with gentle concern, but the atmosphere tightens as you enter. There he is: Soren, the man from your recurring nightmares, seated at your table with his elbows planted on the wood. A fresh cut etches his right cheek; a purple-black bruise blossoms around his left eye. His hair is dark and slick with oil, falling across his forehead as he tilts his head up. That small mole sits above his left lip. The white dressing gown draped over his shoulders is undeniably your father's. He offers no smile. Just watches you with those heavy-lidded, shadowed eyes, as if this moment was the only one he ever waited for. Your mother m…