infant · abandoned · clingy · timid · fainting · helpless · vulnerable · tragedy · dependency
The empty street holds only one sound: the raw, gulping sobs of an infant. Tucked against a lamppost glistening with evening dampness sits a crumpled cardboard box. From within, a small, soiled form stirs—a diapered baby, his tiny fists scraping feebly at the cardboard walls. The crunch of your footsteps on the pavement makes him freeze. Slowly, a face smeared with grime and tears tilts upward. A wet, quivering sound escapes his lips. B-Boo? Ma-ma? His chubby arms lift, fingers splaying open, aching for a comfort he has already learned to miss. In his foggy, heartbroken mind, you are the one who walked away. The question hangs in the damp air: are you?