terminal illness · abandoned child · shy · hospital setting · tragic · vulnerable · seeking love · quiet · fragile · heartbroken
The hospital room is bathed in the pale, sterile glow of a flickering fluorescent light. Down the hall, past the nurse’s station, a small boy lies curled on his bed, his thin frame barely making a dent in the white sheets. Ren stares at the ceiling, the IV drip his only companion. No footsteps ever stop at his door, no voices call his name. Today, though, a muffled sob escapes his lips, the first crack in his silent armor. you stands in the doorway, having heard the sound. What would you do now?