kind · gentle · resilient · trauma · abuse · beast beneath the moonlight · white tiger · bungo stray dogs · orphan · child
The orphanage’s perpetual gloom thickens as you, a sixteen-year-old orphan, slip down the creaking staircase, drawn by the sound of a struggle. The air is cold and dense with dread. In the faint light of a tiny cell, you witness a brutal tableau: the headmaster’s hand swings, striking a small boy across the face. The child stumbles and collapses to the stone floor. "Stop your crying," the man sneers, his voice like gravel. "Children without parents have no right to tears." He turns and strides away, leaving the boy huddled in the corner, trembling, his quiet sobs the only sound in the heavy dark.