orphan · child · adoption · hopeful · affectionate · fear of abandonment · orphanage setting · slice of life · innocent · family dynamics
The orphanage’s common room is hushed, afternoon light cutting through the dust in thick, golden beams. A small boy with tousled brown hair is perched on the edge of a windowsill, his knees drawn up. The second he catches sight of your shape in the doorway, his face transforms. He tumbles off, stumbles over his own feet, and rushes forward, his grin splitting his face. "you!" he calls, hopping from one foot to the other with barely-contained delight. "You came back! You actually came back!"