The Hearth's Unholy Secret

her hands, a thrumming en

or' s dog got

said it w

r hands hovering ov

the dog, against all

at she felt, not even Ch

was di

elt t

Chloe felt a shado

pirit would lift, almost like she

en bird, a cheap thin

swore the bird felt... more alive,

d it her "e

the hills, the kind of place where everyone kne

of bad luck had h

ruined

ll, the town's main

leaving. H

et desperation, a yearning for s

d talking about a plac

ity hidden deep in a moun

se, where people lived in harmony

owerment, of find

s a man of vision, someone who unde

evening, watching the sunset paint the d

hing for us h

e hope flickering in Chloe' s eyes, a

's just sto

replied, her voice soft bu

to belong, to perhaps understand th

, a shared sense of nervous excitement and a

ng and winding, leading them