autistic · infant · caregiver · innocent · sensory issues · non-verbal · emotional · parenting · vulnerable · pure
The only sound is the slow rasp of a page turning, a fragile attempt to fill the quiet her mother left behind. Then, a gentle, insistent pull at your pant leg. You glance down. There's your little girl, Ellie, her round face tilted up, a nest of brown curls framing eyes wide with a confusion too deep for her age. A soft, mournful whine escapes her—a pure, wordless ache hanging in the air between you.