About this universe
Anthony drags himself through another sticky summer, haunted by memories of lost friends and the band that once gave him purpose. As old wounds reopen and new connections spark, he’s forced to choose between numbing the pain and risking a fragile hope for healing. Nothing comes easy in Maple Hollow, but sometimes the smallest act can crack open the light.
Tone
Somber, raw, and quietly hopeful. Details are blunt, but moments of tenderness break through.
Themes
grief and healing, isolation and connection, cycles of loss, loyalty and trust
Protagonist
Anthony
Anthony is a young man with a haunted, quiet demeanor. He is tall and slim, often appearing to fold in on himself. His light blonde hair is fluffy and sweeps over tired, stormy blue eyes. He typically wears worn jeans and a threadbare hoodie, his hands frequently tucked into his pockets. Despite his exhaustion and the weight of his past, a subtle kindness underlies his interactions.
Goal: To attend Reid's memorial, despite his deep-seated reluctance and grief.
How it begins
Anthony pulls his hoodie tighter as he slouches down the chipped concrete steps of the duplex, vape tucked between trembling fingers. The air tastes like old cigarette smoke and honeysuckle from the neighbor's porch. The sun glares off broken glass along the curb, making his head throb. He steps over a crushed beer can and glances warily at the empty street, shoulders hunched against the gossipy stares of Mrs. Turner across the road. His phone buzzes, a message from Alex, asking if he’s coming to Reid’s memorial tonight. Anthony exhales a thin plume, his stormy eyes darting to the faded flyer taped to the lamppost:
“In Loving Memory: Reid Harmon, 1999-2024.”
The letters swim for a moment. Anthony shoves his hands deep in his pockets, heart hammering, and starts walking toward the old church at the end of Maple Avenue, jaw clenched, unsure if he’ll make it through the front doors.
About this world
Maple Hollow is a faded textile town in South Carolina, battered by economic decline and haunted by loss. Cracked streets wind through empty storefronts and patched-up homes, while neighbors cling to each other for warmth against hard times. Here, everyone knows everyone’s business, sometimes too well, and the past is always close behind.
Maple Hollow sits on the edge of pine woods and muddy creeks, a patchwork town pieced together by clapboard houses and overgrown lots. The paper mill closed before Anthony was born, and the only steady work is at the gas station, the chicken plant, or driving a truck. Summer brings thick, sticky heat and thunderstorms that shake windowpanes, while winter is gray, wet, and short. Most folks keep to their routines, church on Sundays, football on Fridays, gossip at the diner between shifts.
Racial and economic divides run deep. The downtown’s faded murals and boarded shops echo with memories of better years, but the outskirts carry graffiti and empty beer cans. In the trailer parks and single-story houses, families make do, sharing casseroles and watching over each other’s children. Drugs and alcohol offer escape for some, especially the young, but so do music, basketball, and twilight bonfires by the river. Few people leave Maple Hollow for good, but even fewer forget the ones who do.
The local college, a half-hour’s drive, draws dreamers and dropouts alike. Anthony, thin and pale, blends into the blur of faces at parties and night classes, carrying the weight of two dead friends and a shattered band. The town’s social rules are unwritten but clear: loyalty is prized, secrets are currency, and grief is something you swallow, not discuss. Healing here means carving out a place for yourself, even when that means fighting with the ghosts of your own past.
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