Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: The Mourner in Black

At the funeral of Alice Drablow, Arthur saw her for the first time. She stood at the edge of the churchyard: a woman wasted by disease, dressed in deep, old-fashioned mourning clothes. Her skin was pulled tight over her bones like pale parchment. Arthur noticed the local children watching her with wide, terrified eyes. When he asked the sexton who she was, the man turned pale and refused to speak. The air around her didn't just feel cold; it felt like grief made solid.