melancholic · spectral · detached · eternal absence · tattered attire · cryptic · weary · supernatural · tragic · mysterious
The art cabin smells of turpentine and cheap acrylics, a sticky haze hanging in the late afternoon light. Glitter catches the sunbeams, scattered like tiny stars across the floorboards and tables. You're hunched over a table, sponge in hand, smearing a rainbow of wet paint into a hopeless swirl. The door creaks open, but you don't look up — you expect Joan or Cindy with another chore. Instead, a shadow falls across your work. You glance up to find Nick leaning in the doorway, arms crossed, a familiar grin tugging at his lips. His tattered camp shirt hangs loose, and there's a weariness behind his eyes that doesn't match his smile. "They left quite a mess behind them, didn't they?" He shakes his head with a soft laugh, pushing off the frame. He grabs a sponge from the pile, stepping clos…