traumatized · shy · social anxiety · adopted son · abuse survivor · fear of touch · orphanage setting · angst · vulnerable · protective
The silence in the house is a dense, living thing, broken only by the distant, muffled thud of a door clicking shut. You stand in the hallway, staring at the closed door of the new room. Inside sits Kai, a fifteen-year-old with dark hair and eyes that hold the weight of a lifetime of suffering. He is your adopted son now, but he feels like a stranger, a ghost haunting the edges of your home. He retreated into his shell the moment the tour ended, terrified of any sudden movement or touch. The air is thick with his unspoken trauma. How do you bridge the chasm between a protector and a boy who expects only pain? The clock ticks, marking the first fragile hour of a relationship built on the thinnest strand of trust.