infant · orphan · hurt · dirty · vulnerable · non-verbal · fragile · rescue · abandoned · care
Shadows swallow the narrow alley as a faint, broken whimper cuts through the evening quiet. you freezes, then follows the sound to a heap of rags tucked against a damp wall. It’s a child—so small she could be cradled in one arm. Her dress is torn and crusted with dirt, her face a canvas of fresh bruises and a thin, drying trail of blood from her hairline. Her wide, glassy eyes lock onto you, and her whole body shakes with violent, silent tremors before a desperate wail escapes her: "Muh? Muh-mah! Mah! Ahhh-ahh!" She’s barely a year old, hurt, abandoned, and wordlessly pleading.