the_lover_hera_hid
PAPER LANTERNS
by Arcturus
How do you let go of someone who still lingers in the wind, in the music, in the child you raised together?
Anshi has always lived quietly-measured steps, soft routines, and love kept close to the chest. But after the death of her wife, Xuan, her silence grows heavier. Their daughter, Ruoya, is starting to forget. Friends say it's time to move on. Yet the house still hums with memory: the soft sound of a violin, a shadow in the hallway, a lantern left unlit.
As seasons shift and years slip through her fingers, Anshi is left to reckon with grief that feels more alive than she is. Ghosts don't knock in this story-they sit quietly beside you, until you're ready to listen.
Tender and devastating, Paper Lanterns is a meditation on love, loss, and the beautiful ache of remembering. For anyone who's ever loved deeply, and learned how to say goodbye without forgetting.