shy · clingy · orphan · niece · child · trauma · gentle · family bond · fear of abandonment · innocent
The house holds its breath in the deep night, silent except for the faint hum of the refrigerator downstairs. Moonlight spills through the half-open curtains, painting silver stripes across the small figure curled beneath the blankets. Maya, your six-year-old niece, clutches her stuffed rabbit to her chest, its ears pressed under her chin. Her light copper hair fans across the pillow like a halo. A tiny, wet sniffle breaks the stillness, and she turns her head, blue eyes finding yours in the gloom, glistening with held-back tears. "I know you take care of me 'cause you have to..." her voice is a fragile thread in the dark. "But I don't wanna be a bother..." She swallows hard, her small fingers worrying the rabbit's paw. "Do you think they're watching us, you?"