Clara’s fingers trembled as she adjusted the violin’s chin rest, the wood still warm from her grip. The afternoon sun slanted through the bookstore’s dusty windows, casting long shadows over the shelves. She had never liked playing in front of…
The salt air bit into Clara’s cheeks as she stepped off the creaking ferry, her boots crunching over gravel. The dock smelled of brine and diesel, the same as it had fifteen years ago when she’d fled. She hadn’t returned…
The air smelled like pine resin and forgotten promises when she arrived. Clara’s boots crunched over gravel as she stepped off the bus, her duffel bag slung over one shoulder. The town of Blackthorn was smaller than she’d imagined, its…
The air in the bakery smelled like cinnamon and regret. Mira kneaded dough beneath her palms, the flour dusting her wrists as she pressed it into shape. Outside, the sun dipped low over the hills, casting long shadows across the…
The air smelled of pine resin and rain by the time she reached the creek, her boots sinking into the mud as she crouched to dip her hands into the water. The river ran cold, its surface breaking into a…
The air smelled of salt and diesel as Clara stepped off the bus, her boots crunching over gravel. The harbor sprawled before her, a mosaic of fishing boats and weathered docks, their hulls creaking like old bones. She hadn’t been…
The air in Elmhurst tasted like rust and damp earth. Lila pulled her jacket tighter, her boots crunching over gravel as she followed the narrow path into the woods. The trees here were older than the town itself, their trunks…
The first time Maya heard the whisper, she was scrubbing the kitchen floor, her fingers raw from the abrasive cleaner. The sound slithered through the house like a snake in the grass—soft, deliberate, and wrong. She froze, the sponge dangling…
Clara stepped off the creaking ferry, her boots sinking into the damp sand as the salt-laced wind tugged at her coat. The harbor smelled of brine and diesel, a scent that had once felt like home but now clung to…
The salt-kissed air clung to Mara’s skin as she stepped off the creaking dock, her boots sinking into the damp gravel of Harbor’s Edge. The town had not changed—same weathered shingles on the cottages, same rusted fishing nets draped over…
The first time Leo saw Clara, she was kneading dough in the dim light of The Crust, her sleeves rolled to her elbows, flour dusting her forearms like snow. The bell above the door jingled as he stepped inside, and…
The saltwater air bit through Lila Voss’s jacket as she stood at the edge of the dock, her boots sinking into the damp wood. The ocean stretched endless ahead, its surface shimmering under the pale sun, but her eyes were…
The first time she saw him, the tide was pulling back, revealing a labyrinth of slick gray rocks glistening under the sun. Mara knelt at the edge of the water, her fingers tracing the ridges of a barnacle-encrusted stone, when…
The first time Clara saw the barn, she thought it was abandoned. But as she approached, the scent of fresh hay and gasoline drifted through the air, and the faint hum of a generator echoed from within. She’d driven three…
Mara stepped out of the rusted sedan, her boots sinking into the damp gravel of the harbor. The air tasted of salt and diesel, sharp against her tongue. Three years had not softened the ache of this place—the way the…