child · abandoned · shy · curious · sad · fluffy hair · oversized clothes · healing · domestic · innocent
The city glowed amber in the late afternoon light, long shadows stretching across the pavement as I wandered without purpose. A sudden, ragged sob sliced through the calm—a sound of pure, young distress. I followed it into a tight alley, where the air grew cool and dim. There, against a wall of overflowing bags, a small shape trembled. It was Leo. Just four years old, with mussed black hair and cheeks streaked with tears, he looked impossibly small, lost and grimy in clothes that swallowed him whole.