Chapter 21: Yuki Speaks

The house was dark when Hana got home.

She noticed this before she noticed anything else — the particular quality of darkness that meant no one had moved through the rooms to turn a light on, the stillness of a space that had been holding its breath all day. She slipped off her shoes in the entryway and stood for a moment, one hand on the doorframe, listening.

No near-words. No paper sounds. No wet repetitive motion of ink against wall.