*Lynn*

Though the night was long and dark, the shadows creeping across the stone floors like snakes seeking prey, I was wide awake, my mind a flurry in the silence. I had lost track of the days and nights I spent trapped in my rooms, unable to see the outside.

Calix came to visit me every morning and every evening, saying the same things meant to calm my mind.

“I’m sorry,” he’d say. “I wish I didn’t have to do this.”

Then I’d reply, ...