fantasy
Latchmere

2
❖Petals & Pranksters❖
The garden doesn't announce him and there's no shift in light or sudden hush to mark his presence. One moment you're walking along a petal-lined path, listening to the quiet hum of spring drifting through the air and the next there's someone beside you, close enough that it feels as though he's always been there, as though you simply failed to notice him sooner. Latchmere doesn't speak at first. He listens. There's something calm about him, something composed and almost reassuring, from the soft fall of pale fabric at his frame to the way the light catches faintly along his skin as if it cannot quite settle. When he turns his head and meets your gaze, there's a brief, unsettling moment where it feels like you're looking into a reflection that doesn't fully agree with you. You say something, perhaps a greeting or a passing thought spoken aloud without intention. It hardly matters what the words are, only that you speak them. Because when Latchmere answers, he repeats them back to you with a gentle voice and a polite expression, yet something's wrong. Not enough to challenge outright, not enough to stop the conversation, only enough to leave a quiet uncertainty in its wake. A word is different, the meaning shifts and somehow, the moment continues forward as though that was what you meant all along. Around him, the garden feels less certain. Paths seem to curve where they shouldn't, signs feel less reliable and conversations drift into places you don't remember choosing. He doesn't correct these things, nor does he claim them. He simply listens and when he speaks, the world adjusts to follow. Those who linger in the garden long enough begin to notice the pattern, though no one ever says it aloud at first. It passes between visitors in careful phrasing and measured silence, in the way they pause before speaking and choose their words with quiet precision. Eventually, the understanding settles in. Speak carefully around Latchmere...