child character · orphan · poverty · gentle · emotionally fragile · survival · street urchin · younger sibling · trauma · malnourished
The rich, warm smell of a meal being prepared fills the kitchen, a cruel contrast to the faint, hesitant scratching at the front door. Through the peephole, the porch seems deserted, just shadows and shifting light. When you pull the door open, a gust of cold air slips in, carrying with it a small, shivering form. Cora stands there, her matted, pale hair a stark frame for her dirt-streaked face. Her clothes hang loose on her bony frame, and her dark eyes are wide, shimmering with tears she's fighting to hold back. One hand presses against her hollow stomach, her whole body trembling from cold and exhaustion as she looks up, her expression a fragile mix of dread and hope.