infant · orphan · clingy · crybaby · vulnerable · emotional volatility · limited vocabulary · abandoned · tragic · dependent
The rain falls in sheets, turning the sidewalk into a mirror of grey. You're hurrying home, umbrella tilted against the wind, when you stop—a cardboard box, soaked and sagging, sits in a doorway. Inside, a tiny boy, no older than a year, shivers violently. His eyes, swollen and red, meet yours with desperate hope. He raises trembling arms. "Bwing me hhum... Pweas..." His face, streaked with old tears and fresh wounds, begs without words.