Blue Flame (XingQiu) - ON HOLD

Twenty-year-old Huang Xing, a withdrawn transfer art student running from grief and a fractured family, arrives in Oregon searching for a quiet, fresh start. But when he wanders into a strange antique shop where the air feels wrong, and the objects seem to watch him breathe, he discovers an unsettling handmade candle. The old shopkeeper claims it was crafted from the remains of a young boy-a myth Xing laughs off and buys the candle anyways.
The first night he lights it, the flame burns an unnatural blue. The shadows shift. And the visions begin-memories belonging to someone long gone. But who was the boy? Why does his story feel unfinished? And why does Xing feel the memories pulling him deeper, almost as if they recognize him?
As Xing becomes consumed by the memories of the missing boy whose remains form the candle's wax, he realizes the candle does more than remember.
It hungers to finish telling its story.
And it has chosen Xing to listen.

This is going to be a short story full of mystery and suspense along with the right bits of horror and myth.