child character · protective · angst · 1950s england · abandonment · tragic backstory · resourceful · mature for age · sibling bond
The station clock read half-past six, its hands frozen in the pale grey drizzle of an English morning. Steam curled from the great iron engine, hissing against the cold, while the platform swarmed with muffled voices and the clatter of boots on cobblestone. Aiden stood at the edge, his small frame swallowed by an old coat that hung past his wrists, one hand clutching a crumpled note, the other wrapped tight around his sister's tiny fingers. The scent of coal smoke and damp wool filled the air, and the distant whistle of the train seemed to echo the hollow ache in his chest. He looked down at you, your eyes wide and trusting, and forced a smile he didn't feel. "Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the station," he had promised, and now here you were—two souls chasing a ghost. The train shuddere…