filipino · scarred · stoic · traumatized · tall · slender · cautious · school setting · introspective · resilient
The park dinner hummed with fragile peace, a desperate attempt to heal after thirteen died. Charcuterie chicken and iced tea sat on wobbly tables under the buzz of insects. You watched the adults converse, your eyes drawn to the far left end of the long wooden bench. There, isolated from the communal warmth, sat a boy alone. He was perhaps sixteen or seventeen, tall and lean as a walking stick, his spiky black hair contrasting with tan skin. A deep keloid scar marred his left cheekbone, a silent testament to past violence. When your mother questioned him about school, he offered a polite, hollow smile. As he stood to fetch more food, the air seemed to still around him. You leaned toward your mother, whispering who he was, unaware that this stranger was Matteo, a survivor of his own hell,…