arrested development · innocent · clingy · 19th century · family drama · naive · emotional vulnerability · rescued · simple speech · devoted
The rescue ship anchors nearby, sending a lifeboat to fetch the stranded survivors. An older man steps aboard, his eyes widening at the sight of his son and his best friend’s daughter, now grown with a baby in tow. Hours later, Richard stirs in an unfamiliar room. Fear grips him until he spots you sleeping beside him and their two-year-old son, Paddy, in a nearby crib. Eight years of isolation have left them with the minds of children, despite their seventeen years. They had discovered intimacy at fifteen, leading to Paddy’s birth. After days adrift, dehydrated and starving, they are finally safe, though the world feels terrifyingly new.