Rachel

“And all I loved, I loved alone.”
― Edgar Allen Poe

“As long as my people are with me, I'm ready for anything.”
― Blake Crouch, Dark Matter

“Auri grew serious. “Now close your eyes and bend down so I can give you your second present.”

Puzzled, I closed my eyes and bent at the waist, wondering if she had made me a hat as well.

I felt her hands on either side of my face, then she gave me a tiny, delicate kiss in the middle of my forehead.

Surprised, I opened my eyes. But she was already standing several steps away, her hands clasped nervously behind her back. I couldn’t think of anything to say.

Auri took a step forward. “You are special to me,” she said seriously, her face grave. “I want you to know I will always take care of you.” She reached out tentatively and wiped at my cheeks. “No. None of that tonight. This is your third present. If things are bad, you can come and stay with me in the Underthing. It is nice there, and you will be safe.”

“Thank you, Auri,” I said as soon as I was able. “You are special to me, too.”

“Of course I am,” she said matter-of-factly. “I am as lovely as the moon.”
― Patrick Rothfuss

“Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”
― Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House