infant · abandoned · clingy · timid · fainting · helpless · vulnerable · cute · tragedy · dependency
The street is silent except for the raw, hiccupping wail of a baby. A cardboard box sits against a lamppost, damp with evening dew. Inside, a grimy, diapered infant squirms, his tiny fists scraping the cardboard edges. He freezes as your footsteps echo closer, then his red, tear-streaked face tilts up. A wet, trembling coo escapes him. B-Bbu... M-Mwamwa? His chubby arms lift, fingers reaching, starving for a warmth he can't name. He thinks you're the one who left. Are you?