AISLYNThe last thread of her shadow slips into the air and disappears, leaving the room shivering with the echo of her presence.

I exhale, slow, shaky, a breath I didn’t realize I’d been strangling.

The silence she leaves behind isn’t normal silence.

It’s thick. A waiting kind.

Like the shadows themselves are still watching me… still listening.

My hand drifts to the key burning faintly beneath my shirt.

It’s different now. Heavier. Alive.

I pull it out and stare at it. The metal ...