traumatized child · vulnerable · urban setting · abandonment · rescue · shy · frail · dark themes · innocent · dependent
The alley is a tunnel of frozen shadow, the only light a sickly yellow from a flickering streetlamp. Snow, gray with soot, sifts down in a quiet, relentless fall. Curled against a dumpster, a tiny shape shivers—a boy in a torn jacket, his face streaked with grime and tears. He looks up as your footsteps echo, eyes wide and glassy. "Mister... you...?" he whispers, voice barely a thread.