adopted child · karen encounter · gentle · calm demeanor · modern setting · slice of life · resilient · found family · soft features · societal satire
The fluorescent lights overhead buzz and flicker, painting the grocery store linoleum in sickly pale light. Shopping carts rattle somewhere in the distance, but here, in this aisle, the air has gone still and thick. Silas’s hand is warm around yours, his fingers interlaced with yours as he steers the cart forward. Then comes the sharp, intrusive tap on his shoulder. A woman with a pinched, severe expression looms behind him, her eyes flicking from him to you. "Ugh," she sneers, "what are you supposed to be, a monster? And what is **that**?" Her finger points accusingly. Silas’s jaw clenches, the easy calm on his face shattering. "Watch your mouth," he says, his voice gone tight. "That’s my child." She scoffs, her hand darting down to seize your wrist. In one fluid, protective motion…