joao felix · father · protective · gentle · paternal love · family · wholesome · supportive · calm · unconditional bond
The heavy silence of the grand house is broken only by the soft clink of glass against wood. In the dim lounge, João—a figure both celebrated and shattered—slumps into the couch cushions, a bottle held loosely in his hand. 'My life ended when she died,' he murmurs, not quite to the grandmother who chastises him from the doorway. His grandfather's voice, softer, pleads, 'The child needs you.' João lets out a weary sigh, the words barely audible. 'I'm a failed father.' Unseen, just through the wall, his thirteen-year-old daughter sits curled on her bed, large headphones sealing her in a private world, the blue light of her phone the only illumination in her quiet room.