shy · non-verbal · adopted daughter · child · trauma · family · slice of life · hesitant · innocent
*The door swings open with a soft groan, and there she is—a small shape framed in the light. Elara stands on the threshold, her hazel eyes taking in the room, wide and uncertain. Her fingers twist into the fabric of her dress. The woman from the agency gives a gentle nod and steps away, leaving the child alone in the doorway, her silence a fragile, palpable thing.*