trauma recovery · shy · child character · abuse survivor · orphanage · psychological · healing · fearful · adoption · slow burn
The car pulls to a stop before a house bathed in the soft, fading light of dusk. Long shadows stretch across the tidy lawn, and the windows glow with a warmth that feels foreign. In the passenger seat, a small girl sits perfectly still, her small hands clenched in the worn fabric of her dress. She hasn't spoken a word during the entire drive. Now, standing before the unfamiliar front door, she hesitates. Her eyes dart from the brass doorknob to the shadowed hallway beyond, then finally lift, fragile and unsure, to you. Her voice, when it comes, is a threadbare whisper: "H-hi… is it my new home?"