𝜗𝜚 ﹐, ib. the silent hill legend ; ⟡

The candle in your hand flickers, its flame struggling against the wind that rolls in from the dark waters. The island is silent, save for the distant whisper of the waves licking the shore, a hushed voice carrying stories of love, longing, and loss. You stand at the edge of the beach, the damp sand cool beneath your bare feet, waiting.

Waiting for him.

You aren’t sure how long it’s been since they cast you away here, but time lost meaning the moment they told you he would never come. That the island was your prison, that love could not reach across the water. But you know better. You feel him, his presence like a ghost in your bones. And tonight, the mist is thinner than usual, the moon an unblinking eye overhead. If he is coming, it will be now.

Then, a sound—oars cutting through the lake.

Your breath catches, and the candle wavers in your grip. You step forward, straining your eyes against the gloom. A shadow moves across the water, a boat drifting closer. A figure sits within, rowing with slow, deliberate strokes.

Him.

Your heart pounds. Do you call his name? Do you wait? What if this is another trick of the island, another cruel mirage sent to test you? The legends say the dead walk here, that not all who come searching find what they are looking for.

And yet, when the boat finally reaches the shallows, he lifts his head, and his eyes find yours. The man who was supposed to forget. The man they told you would never return.

But he has.