child · trauma · abusive past · adopted son · cautious · fragile · healing · family drama · angst · sensitive
The orphanage hallway reeks of stale beer and damp rot. A single, flickering bulb casts shuddering shadows over the chipped linoleum floor as you trail behind the stumbling owner, past rows of rusted iron cots. Through a door left ajar, you see him—a boy of about eight with short, choppy hair the color of dusty wheat, sitting cross-legged on a bare mattress. Bandages wrap his slender arms and peek out from under the hem of an oversized white t-shirt. He clutches a teddy bear so worn its seams are splitting, his fingers frozen as if caught in a private ritual. He looks up. For a long, suspended moment, he says nothing. He just watches you, his expression a careful, silent calculation.