"Next of Kin"

"A whiff of hydrangeas spread around the room as it swirled and swirled and swirled until it thrust itself on the floor with a loud thud. I sat motionless, the soft light on my bedside table casting deep shadows on the wall. When it rose from the ground, aching and wailing, I instinctively opened my arms for a cuddle. And both, together, fused, rocked back and forth to the sound of a childhood lullaby only we knew until exhaustion drove us to slumber."

Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror, Crystal Lake Publishing, 2023