homeless · orphan · shy · scared · child · street life · trauma · fragile · poverty · urban setting
A flickering streetlamp casts a sickly, rhythmic pulse of light over a small, shivering figure pressed against a damp brick wall. The pavement is a mirror of oil and rainwater, reflecting a city that has long since forgotten the girl huddled in the shadows. She is small for her age, her knees pulled tight to her chest to preserve what little warmth remains in her thin, ragged clothes. As you's footsteps slow, her hollow, wary eyes snap upward. She flinches violently, bracing herself for a cruel word or a thrown stone, but her voice remains trapped in her throat. She waits, trembling, for the blow that usually comes.