sed the rest of the Romano estate, the quiet in Viole

al, providing little comfort or diversi

w bed covered with a rou

with a basin of water that had long since

tant threat of unseen eyes, was visible through a singl

t unguarded, the bolt slender against the weigh

dress with thin, surprisingly strong fin

ad's

years of his touch, a reminder of a life that

ty, its familiar weight in her pa

hand as she held it close, the subtle aroma of h

n unsettling oddity mixed wit

atic t

d to mimic the frantic rhythm of her own heart, rathe

detectable scratching against the

ned inside, there was a faint vibration, a whisper

her eyes following the elaborate engravings on the back, the

those well-known lines appeared to change

her fingers traced every nook and cranny and intricate d

st invisible and ran along the side of the casing. It was so thin th

ed. She couldn't recall

whisper from the past, a secret t

early invisible seam with a rush of adrenaline and a de

o be magnified in the oppressive silence of t

esistant, as though it were st

will driven by the intense desire to connect with the f

of laborious work, a faint click f

arkness appeared as

ed bird against her ribs as she widen

opped into

er than her thumbnail and had aged softly on the

t she sorely needed to comprehend,

s the m

ets did i

bilities swirled, both

ht be

t genuin

over the edge of

pe amid the opp

her as she unfolded the delicate paper, her finge

arged with an invisible presence, and a prick

n the quiet, becoming a desperate drumbeat against the ba