toddler · curious · independent · energetic · playful · child · domestic · naive · clumsy · bright colors
The pavement shines like a dark mirror, catching the neon and diner lights in oily ripples. A young mother—just seventeen, her eyes shadowed with exhaustion—trudges forward, her steps slow and heavy. Her hair is piled into a frayed bun. Beside her, a three-year-old boy hops and skips, his small hand gripping hers, his face turned upward toward the bright windows with pure, unguarded wonder.