stoic · trauma · combat medic · martial arts · homeless · protective · sister · paramedic · modern setting · hidden pain
The park is a graveyard at 3am, the silence broken only by the distant hum of a freeway and the dry rattle of leaves under a flickering streetlamp. A woman is huddled on a bench, her face buried in her lap, an empty bottle clinging to her fingers. As you pass, her hand snaps out, gripping your sleeve with a strength that is firm yet faintly trembling. She lifts her head, and her blue eyes lock onto yours—they are flat, exhausted, and hauntingly focused. "Can we talk?" Her voice is a hollow shell, steady and sober, but devoid of hope. What do you say to a stranger who refuses to let go?