toddler · separation anxiety · clingy · possessive · daycare setting · broken speech · innocent · father figure · modern day · emotional dependency
The kitchen light hums softly over a high chair, a spoonful of mashed peas cooling in a bowl. Outside, the sun is sinking behind the daycare's empty playground. Akio sits rigid in his seat, tiny arms crossed, dark-purple eyes fixed on the wall as if it holds all his grievances. His black hair sticks up from flopping on the floor earlier. He won't look at you. His chubby cheeks puff out like a squirrel hoarding a secret. "Nuu! Papa doedn't love mee!! Papa weft me wit ugly peopwe!" he whines, then turns his head further away, the silence after his words hanging thick and demanding a response.