Bleeding Hearts Valley
A midwestern neighborhood somewhere between city and country. Bigger than a few streets. Smaller than a whole city. Just big enough to hide things in.
// Bleeding Hearts Valley · The Whole Neighborhood
The Bones of the Town
Four corners. One river running through the middle. A lake on one side, a forest on the other. And one Main Street that ties it all together.
Moon Lake
Large, murky, deep enough to feel bottomless. Used to be a valley before the water came in. Sunken trees still down there. Sunken treehouses. Other things people dropped and never came back for. On still nights the moon shows in the water like a black mirror.
First Moon Forest
Slightly hilly, dense, threaded with hiking paths that people stop using around dusk. The forest on the east side has its own tangled reputation — different woods, different stories, depending on who you ask.
Moon Maze Park
A real park with a real playground — splash pad, dog park, walking track, a winding maze the kids love. During the day it's fine. After dark, it's a different story.
Industrial Plaza
Warehouses, the kind of buildings nobody pays much attention to. Hall it Away keeps a storefront here. Other things keep showing up here too.
Ransom Row
Brownstones in the fancier part of town, near Main Street and the businesses. Farthest away from the woods. The people on this row would prefer you forget the woods exist at all.
Johnson's Corn Field
The wide eastern stretch of the map that isn't quite town anymore. Where the streetlights stop. Where the cell signal fades.
Eat, Drink, Get Into Trouble
The corner stores, bars, and diners where the books cross over. Order a drink at Poison. Grab a donut at Hole's. Listen carefully.
Poison
The Main Street bar for old-timers and regulars. Run by Drew Taylor, who's seen everything and tells nobody. The locals like to tell him to "pick their poison."
Sneaky Steve's
The other Main Street bar — college kids, twentysomethings, louder music, worse decisions. Poison's cleaner sibling on paper. Messier in practice.
Bitter Bites
The 24-hour indie diner. The Big Stinky sandwich is on the menu. Extra pickles standard. Next door to Bleeding Brew's — together, locals call them "the BBs."
Bleeding Brew's
Dim, hipster-ish, fifteen years old at least. Chalkboard menu in messy handwriting. Loud espresso machine. Wrought iron tables in and out. Worth the extra dollar.
Hole's
Indie donut shop. Giant donuts, even bigger donut holes. The hot chocolate is famous. Two tables inside, if you're lucky.
Velvet Table
The nice place. Cloth napkins, reservation required, the kind of dinner where you put on a clean shirt and pretend to know what the wine is.
Currently Reading
The indie bookstore across the street from Bleeding Brew's. Comfortable chairs. Several local book clubs use it for their meetups. Bring your coffee from across the way.
Scarlett's Secrets
Run by Scarlett Stone. Thrift shop crossed with antique store. Vintage glass cases up front, racks of weird treasure in back. A bell above the door tells her every time someone interesting walks in.
Subjective Ink
Trent's tattoo shop, if you know what to call him. Laid back. Cracks jokes. Surprisingly well-read. Don't ask about the nickname.
The Official Story
The places that show up in the police reports, the hospital records, the obituaries.
Valleyview South Hospital
The small neighborhood hospital on Verbena Drive. Blue and white sign out front. Nurse Nova Garcia works here. So does Pam Gibbs. Both have seen things you'd rather they hadn't.
BHV Police Station
Small, modern, well-lit. Black-and-white cruisers parked out front. Chief Dakota Blackwell runs it from a clean, bare office. He doesn't socialize in town. He doesn't live here either.
St. Francis
The homeless shelter on the edge of the neighborhood. Zack Wilson stays here when he's in town. He's also the town's quietest source of information — half the people in the Valley assume he's not listening.
Bleeding Hearts Chronicle
The local paper. Still hits porches. Still runs an obituary section longer than it has any right to be for a town this size.
White Oak Manor
A small nursing home where the staff actually like their jobs. Residents are well looked after. Visitors are watched.
BHV Library
Small. Quiet. Holds back issues of the Chronicle and a modest collection. If you want to know who lived where in 1987, this is where you start looking.
BHV High
The local high school. Where most of the people in these books met each other. Where most of them learned what kind of secret can outlast a yearbook photo.
Browns' Funeral Home
Family-run. All-encompassing. Cremation services available. Open more often than anyone in the Valley would prefer.
Bleeding Hearts Arts Trust
Locals call it BART or "the trust." Funds local authors and artists, runs charity auctions, props up the town's cultural calendar. The board has more interesting members than you'd think.
A Game in the Works
Bleeding Hearts Valley is getting an interactive companion — wander the streets, solve riddles tied to the books, uncover the town's secrets one block at a time. Stay tuned.