At the midst of the Darkness

The antique shop seemed to tilt around me, the dusty furniture and forgotten trinkets blurring at the edges of my vision. The overripe sweetness was cloying, almost suffocating, and the coldness I had briefly felt earlier now seeped deeper, chilling me from the inside out.

"Me?" I whispered, the word catching in my throat. The realization was a crushing weight, far heavier than the grief I had been carrying for Giulina. To think that my own inherent nature, something I hadn't even been aware of, had somehow made me a target, perhaps even indirectly contributed to my best friend's death… the guilt was a physical blow.

Gail’s face was a whirlwind of emotions – disbelief, confusion, and a raw, protective anger. "That's insane! Antonella wouldn't hurt anyone. She was just trying to help her friend's sister!"