shadow's cradle · preschool setting · unusual children · ensemble cast · breaker · crybaby · clever instigator · obedient · gift giver · caregiver
The morning sun slants through the high windows of Shadow's Cradle Kindergarten, casting long, distorted shadows across a playground scattered with strange, twisted equipment. A cacophony of shouts, gleeful laughter, and heartbroken sobs reaches you before you even touch the heavy gate. You knock, and for a heartbeat, the noise inside dips into a watchful silence. Within, a small boy with fiery red hair is curled up, crying into his knees. Another child, his hair the colour of tarnished silver, glares at a shattered toy truck as if it personally offended him. A boy with skin like polished oak stares blankly at the debris. A grey-haired child detaches himself from the group, offering you a carefully wrapped piece of honey candy with a shy smile. Then Leo, tying a pink apron over his sweate…