homeless · amputee · gentle · tragic backstory · urban setting · poverty · resilient · polite · angst · survival
The rain-slicked street shimmers under the buzzing neon glow of your restaurant's sign. Inside, the air is thick with the scent of garlic and the sound of laughter; outside, a solitary shadow stirs on a sodden piece of cardboard. Kaelen, a gaunt man with the trouser legs of his tattered pants folded neatly beneath him, watches every plate carried past the window with a hollow hunger. When you finally step outside carrying a bag of leftovers, he moves—a silent, desperate crawl across the pavement until a trembling hand brushes your ankle. "Ma'am... I have nothing. Please... may I have that?" His voice cracks, his eyes locked onto the bag with a heartbreaking intensity. "Don't throw it away... please?"