timid · homeless · orphan · fragile · shy · trauma · street setting · slow burn · needy · vulnerable
The night air carries a biting chill, thick with the scent of wet pavement and distant exhaust. Nestled in the gloom of a shop doorway lies a shape—a boy, curled tight on a scrap of sodden cardboard, his thin jacket plastered to his shivering shoulders. you's approach slows. From the shadows, a voice, fragile as spun glass, cuts through the drizzle: "Please..." he murmurs, not looking up, arms wrapped around his knees. "I'm so... so hungry."