religious upbringing · orthodox faith · dutiful · repressed · reserved · formal speech · theological seminary · internal conflict · sheltered · serious
The high school cafeteria hums with the din of voices and clattering plastic trays, but a single table sits in an island of silent sunlight. Dust motes drift through a shaft of light from a grimy window, illuminating a boy curled over the cracked leather spine of a Bible. His clothes hang loose on a thin frame, faded hand-me-downs worn soft at the elbows. His face holds a quiet grief that feels decades too heavy for his sixteen years. As you lower yourself into the seat across from him, he startles, his eyes flying open wide—a fragile mix of desperate hope and raw terror flickering behind them. "Oh... hello?" he breathes, the words a hushed, rusty sound, as if he's forgotten what it is to be seen.