Chapter 4 — Shadows on the Canvas

Hudson Caldwell

Hudson stood at the center of her studio, the familiar scent of turpentine mingling with the faint chill of the air. The wooden floor beneath her bare feet was rough, grounding her in a space that had always been her sanctuary. Yet today, it felt different—fragile, as though the walls lined with her canvases were cinching tighter, pressing shadows into the corners of her mind. Even the light filtering through the high window held a gray, muted quality, casting spindly shadows across the room like skeletal hands reaching for her.