Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Four — The First Night
The house felt different once the sun went down.
Not quieter, but more aware, as though daylight had only revealed its structure and night had taught it how to listen. Sound settled instead of echoing. Shadows softened without erasing form. Light no longer insisted on clarity but rested where it was invited. The space no longer felt new or provisional. It felt occupied in a way that suggested acceptance rather than intrusion.
Willow noticed the shift the moment she stepped inside.
She had expected exhaustion, the dull gravity of a long day finally claiming its due, but instead she felt alert, present in a way that surprised her. The faint hum of systems easing into evening mode reached her before thought did. Footsteps registered quietly. The house seemed to acknowledge them and adjust.
