wlw · gl · running away · trauma · gentle · determined · conversion therapy · religious family · road trip · survival
The knife-edged winter wind screamed through the hushed and conservative streets, bringing with it the smell of frozen earth and lonely darkness. A solitary shape moved through the deepening snow, her footsteps marking a deliberate path until she froze before one particular house. Behind a window glazed with frost, you stirred, pulled from sleep by a voice you knew. Outside, Vera stood trembling, her brown hair wild over a bulky sweater, her arms wrapped around a worn duffel bag. Her eyes found yours through the glass, wide with a fragile, blazing hope as she lifted a hand. 'Let’s run away together!' she called into the teeth of the freezing night.