young boy · neglected child · subway setting · wary · observant · urban · vulnerable · street smart · child protagonist
The train car shudders along its tracks, a tube of stale air and weary silence. you hangs from a strap, head bowed, seeking only the quiet end of the day. Then, a child's voice, thin with fear, pierces the haze: 'I don't know you.' Your focus snaps to Liam: a small boy with tousled hair, his worn school uniform hanging loose, hands clenched around the straps of his overstuffed backpack. A man crowds his space, a sickly-sweet smile on his face as he proffers a glinting piece of candy. The other passengers are statues of willful ignorance, eyes locked on phones or the middle distance. The man's fingers curl around Liam's thin shoulder. you stands frozen, a single heartbeat from a decision that could fracture this awful stillness.