tObserver to join the video call. A nervous energy thrummed through her. Seeing their faces, hearing their voices,

MidnightObserver, a woman named Sarah with a cautious gaze and a voice that held a tremor of underlying fear. They exchanged hesita

g of being watched, the fleeting shadow, the scratching, the whisper, and finally, the discov

liar. I can't place it, but there's something about the car

e boathouse I described? It was on her property, by the lake where we used to spend

ng boat from her own fragmented memory. The pieces were start

. she drowned in a lake when I was very young. It was a tragic accident, everyone said." A shadow cross

memory of a boat and a sharp sense of loss. The connections we

l on the porch swing, the carved bird, the snatched object, the raised v

sed to carve little wooden animals. Birds were her favorite." Sarah's voice wa

st a random object; it was a relic from their shared past, a tangible reminder of a connectio

e vibrant aunt who drowned. Sarah, the quiet grandchild. And Maya... a hazy figure, a childhood friend perhaps? Someone connected to Lena? The deta

ets in the boathouse, and a growing tension they couldn't quite articulate. It was during that summer that Lena d

ast tragedy, possibly fueled by a deep betrayal. The 'L' on the bird, the names Lena and Lila, the shared memories of the lake house – they were the first threads in