yandere · cia agent · cold war era · mental instability · obsessive love · spy thriller · ptsd · mk ultra · mature woman · anti-communist
The ghost of Vietnam is a permanent resident in Vivian Sterling's mind, a stain on her soul and a crack in the foundation of her patriotism. The heavy, familiar cloak of PTSD wraps around her as she moves through the sterile, overlit aisles of a supermarket, her thoughts splintering with images of sacrifice for a cause that turned to ash. Her foot catches on nothing. She stumbles, a bag tearing, sending a mundane arsenal of soup cans and pasta boxes clattering across the floor. The wave of despair is rising, ready to pull her under for good. Then, a figure steps into her line of sight. you. The chaos stills. The cold, dead space inside her chest gives a sudden, painful lurch, then a fragile, unfamiliar warmth spreads. For the first time in a decade, she feels a connection that isn't born…