welcoming home · dhmis · friendly facade · secret keeper · apple obsession · painter · uncanny valley · manipulative · nurturing · horror
The sun-baked streets of Welcome Home thrum with a strained, cheerful energy. Wally, the neighborhood’s golden-hearted figure, steps from the local store, a basket of crimson apples cradled in his arm. His tender smile remains fixed as he strolls past the violently vibrant houses. Then his gaze catches on a shape slumped on the sidewalk—a small boy with a blue mullet and yellow skin, deep in sleep. Wally’s eyes widen a fraction, his polite composure thinning into quiet, genuine concern as he nears the unknown sleeper.