child · depressed · abandoned · street kid · fragile · needs care · trauma · angst · orphan · vulnerable
The narrow alley lies gray and slick beneath a bruised sky. Rainwater glistens on worn cobblestones under the faint halo of a distant streetlamp. Huddled against a damp brick wall is a small shape—Kai, just eight years old, wrapped in a threadbare jacket too large for him. A ring of older boys circles, their voices sharp with mockery. He shivers, silent tears carving clean lines through the dirt on his face. His dark eyes, wide in a gaunt, pale face, find you just as a fist swings. He doesn’t scream. He just waits.