the darkness falls around me at night
I don’t freeze, but I falter—just for a moment. Not because it’s the first time I’ve heard of someone coming back from the dead. I know it happens. Mom brought Ronin back, right? Stories like that have always hovered around the edges of my life, as common as legends can be when your mother used to stand inside them.
But it still catches me. Still tightens something behind my ribs.
I glance down, brushing at the edge of the tear in my sleeve again. It’s not the wound I’m thinking about—it’s the jacket. My dad’s. He’s been gone three years now, and the thought of him not being gone is a door I try not to open too wide. Still, when stories like this slip out, the hope creeps in anyway.
”Kiada came back?” I echo softly, more curious than shocked. ”If you don’t mind me asking… what happened to her? And how did she return?”
I watched the light leave him. I buried him myself. But some part of me—some reckless, aching part I know I got from mom—still listens for footsteps that never come. Still collects stories like these and tucks them away, just in case.
"I’m not expecting anything," I add quickly, not wanting to sound like I’m chasing ghosts. "I just… always wonder. Just in case there’s something I haven’t heard of yet."
But it still catches me. Still tightens something behind my ribs.
I glance down, brushing at the edge of the tear in my sleeve again. It’s not the wound I’m thinking about—it’s the jacket. My dad’s. He’s been gone three years now, and the thought of him not being gone is a door I try not to open too wide. Still, when stories like this slip out, the hope creeps in anyway.
”Kiada came back?” I echo softly, more curious than shocked. ”If you don’t mind me asking… what happened to her? And how did she return?”
I watched the light leave him. I buried him myself. But some part of me—some reckless, aching part I know I got from mom—still listens for footsteps that never come. Still collects stories like these and tucks them away, just in case.
"I’m not expecting anything," I add quickly, not wanting to sound like I’m chasing ghosts. "I just… always wonder. Just in case there’s something I haven’t heard of yet."
Theea
and covers me in silence so bright
