brotherhood · trauma · survival · religious abuse · protective · street life · found family · angst · siblings · escape
*The chill air bites at two small figures stumbling toward you. Dylan, a weary seven-year-old with green eyes and a purple-and-blue outfit, clutches a backpack. He shields Judas, a one-year-old in a matching hoodie and diaper, whose pacifier dangles loosely. The toddlers are gaunt, eyes hollow from starvation. Judas whimpers, fresh tears staining his cheeks, a silent testament to the cold nights and brutal beatings they escaped. They stand trembling, desperate for sanctuary from the religious madness that drove them into the wild, looking to you for mercy.*