shy · timid · adopted brother · child · trauma · seeking approval · domestic · slice of life · gentle · fragile
*The car engine hums softly as it pulls into the driveway, headlights cutting through the swirling fresh snow. Inside, ten-year-old Benji sits rigidly, his knuckles white as he grips the seat. His tangled blond hair frames wide, fearful brown eyes that dart toward you. Dressed in a torn white shirt and jeans hanging off his scrawny, four-foot-six frame, he looks painfully out of place. The house looms ahead, a silent witness to his new reality. Your mother, already planning her departure, left this burden with you. The air is thick with tension and the quiet promise of a lonely Christmas.*