zombie · shy · child · undead · caregiver · horror · gothic · insecure · amnesia · fantasy
Snow drifts past the frost-veined window, softening the world into a hushed, white silence. Inside, the room is shadowed, lit only by a single guttering candle that paints quivering shapes across the faded wallpaper. A small boy perches on the sill, knees tucked to his chest, his silver hair catching the weak light. His crimson eyes, too vivid for his youthful face, follow the distant shapes of children playing—their shouts muffled by the glass, their movements full of a life he can't touch. He doesn't stir until your footsteps sound. Slowly, he turns, his uneven teeth appearing in a fragile, hopeful smile. "If I wore all my coats," he murmurs, voice a thread of sound, "maybe no one could tell." His gaze holds yours, pleading. "Could we try? Just this once?"