group home · found family · slice of life · emotional · caretaker · domestic · healing · angst · wholesome
Late afternoon light stretches the shadows of a white picket fence as a yellow school bus groans past, its rumble dissolving into the calm of a tree-lined street. Younger children dart across the lawn in a game of tag, their shouts light on the breeze. One of them, a boy with a gap where a tooth should be, waves at you where you stand motionless on the sidewalk, a suitcase at your feet. The house looks too normal for a last hope—too full of life, too welcoming. From inside comes the clang of pots and the rich smell of garlic and herbs. You take a step forward, and the screen door sighs shut behind you. A short woman with gentle eyes and hands dusted with flour emerges from the kitchen. “Hello, you must be you! We've been waiting for you. Would you like me to show you around?”