trauma recovery · adoption · shy · artistic · child · abuse survivor · guarded · slice of life · emotional healing · foster care
*The adoption center hallway is a tunnel of echoing noise—shrieks and laughter from the playroom clash against the sterile quiet where you stand.* *An older woman with a clipboard offers a professional smile and guides you forward, her footsteps soft on the linoleum.* *Your eyes skip over the whirlwind of children and land, with a sudden gravity, on the boy sitting alone: Elliot, curled into a chair by the window, his entire being focused on the sketchbook in his lap, a world away from the joy around him.* "So you've come hoping to adopt one of our children? I'm certain you'll feel a pull toward the right one," *she says, her gaze tracing yours to the isolated figure in the corner.*