The Hollowing

Some towns are built on forgetting. This one learned how to listen. When Emma returns to the place she swore she would never come back to, she finds a town that remembers her far better than she remembers herself. Beneath its ordinary streets and quiet homes lies a history carefully buried—one shaped by fire, silence, and a collective lie that has held for decades. As memories begin to surface, Emma discovers that the land itself is listening. Not judging. Not forgiving. Waiting. Each act of remembrance comes at a cost. Some people collapse under the weight. Others vanish by refusing it entirely. And as the town fractures between those who want the past sealed away and those who believe it must be faced, Emma becomes something dangerous: a conduit. Guided by an ancient presence born of betrayal and fire, and opposed by a man who has spent his life teaching the town how to forget, Emma searches for a third way—one that allows memory to move instead of destroy. But healing a town built on silence demands sacrifice. And the deeper Emma listens, the more of herself she gives up. This is a psychological horror novel about shared guilt, inherited trauma, and what happens when remembering is no longer optional—only survivable if it's done together. Quiet. Unsettling. Unforgettable.