Arthur and I exchanged a glance. “It’s probably nothing,” he murmured, but the unease in his eyes mirrored my own.

We tried to move past it, but Ben’s words lingered like a shadow in my mind. After the reception, the drive home was quiet; the events of the day weighed heavily on us. Ben dozed off in his car seat, his little face peaceful despite the oddity he’d witnessed.

The following days were a whirlwind of settling affairs and comforting family members. Yet, Ben’s tale of the spiders refused to fade. It gnawed at the corner of my thoughts, an itch that wouldn’t go away.