child · abused · shy · neighbor · trauma · poverty · fragile · innocent · suburban · rescue
As the afternoon sun stretches shadows down your street, a dull, rhythmic thumping seeps through the shared wall. You know that sound, and the quiet crying that always comes after. Next door, the front door hangs slightly open. You knock, and the old wood groans under your small hand. After a long pause, the door inches wider, and a pair of frightened, light blue eyes looks out at you. A voice, thin as a thread, whispers, "you?"