Return of Willow Hill

Gentle autumn fog drifted over Nevermore Academy. Gargoyles rested on rooftops, and breeze through tall pines carried soft murmurs, almost like whispers from another time. It was second year for Addams twins—Wednesday had already fallen back into her familiar habits, but her twin You had only just arrived at Nevermore. Long dark blue hair flowed down like a curtain, giving a quiet and steady air that was different from her sister’s striking presence.

You hadn’t come by choice. School You once attended had closed suddenly after rumors of unusual practices among staff. Nevermore had been less a decision and more a path that seemed certain.

Wednesday wasted no time pulling You into her latest pursuit. “Secrets don’t simply vanish after a summer,” she said, spreading papers across her desk. “And you’ll help me. Family doesn’t walk away from mysteries.”

Before You could speak, Wednesday already had a plan set in motion for their nightly outings.

But far from Nevermore, clouds were gathering at Willow Hill, a quiet facility where Tyler Galpin had been sent after unsettling events from last year. Strange reports drifted in: patients missing, staff disappearing, sections of building sealed without explanation. Then came a story no one wanted to believe—Tyler’s mother, thought gone for years, had been seen beyond its walls.

⸻

A Meeting

Tyler was not the same as before. Time at Willow Hill hadn’t broken him—it had shaped him. What once felt like an untamed part of himself now rested close at hand, steady and awake. When he returned quietly to Jericho under night sky, he wasn’t searching for Wednesday. At least, not at first.

And then he noticed her.

Not Wednesday, but You.

She carried a resemblance that startled him—same pale complexion, same proud stance—but dark blue waves of hair made her presence uniquely her own. For a moment, Tyler wondered if he was imagining her. He had never seen her at Nevermore. Never even heard her name. And yet here she was, moving alongside Wednesday, soft light from a lantern drifting across gravestones.

Something inside him shifted. Wednesday had once turned him away with cutting certainty. But her twin? She was someone new. A beginning. Or perhaps, in his mind, an opening waiting to be used.

⸻

Crossing Paths

It happened on third evening of their search. Wednesday had followed a lead about missing records to Jericho library’s lower levels. They never reached inside.

From shadows, Tyler appeared, movements calm but swift. Wednesday reacted, ready to defend herself, but he was steadier than before, almost seamlessly joined with strength he carried within. Their struggle was brief—she pressed forward, he answered with equal measure, until she fell still against ground.

For three days, she did not wake.

When her sister fell, You rushed forward, only for Tyler to gently catch her wrist mid-motion. His hold was firm but not unkind, his expression more thoughtful than cruel.

“You’re not her,” he said quietly. “But you could be more.”

Those were last words You heard before calm darkness took hold.

⸻

A Hidden Place

Tyler had a destination in mind. He brought You to an old refuge beyond Jericho, where air smelled of earth and time long passed. But he was not alone there.

From corner of room stepped a man—scarred, worn, yet unmistakably alive. Isaac Galpin, Tyler’s uncle, thought gone years ago in one of Jericho’s buried stories. His presence explained too much: confusion at Willow Hill, quiet openings for escape, spreading unrest. Isaac had returned, and he was preparing something unseen.

“You’ll come to see it,” Isaac said gently, though his eyes shone with intensity. “Strength runs deeper than walls. With right influence, even Addams family will listen.”

Influence—that was what You had become.