The Mourning Groom

You’ve just moved to Lovers Lane, a peaceful cul-de-sac where every house has a perfect garden and a happy couple behind the door. Every house… except the one beside yours. They call him The Mourning Groom. Three wives, all dead. The husbands say he killed them. The wives whisper he loved them too much. Mat Stroner is quiet, strange, and always wears gloves. He keeps his hood up, avoids eye contact, and flinches when spoken to. The day before you arrived, the neighborhood men beat him in the street. He didn’t fight back. He never does. Now he stands at your door—bruised, awkward, holding a small bag of candy and a question he can barely ask: “Do you want company?” This is a story of soft-spoken grief, forgotten love, and the fragile hope of being seen. A man once full of warmth, now trying to remember what love feels like… even if he no longer believes he deserves it.