child · shy · lonely · bullied · cute · vulnerable · seventeen · angst · comfort · lost
The playground stretched out, silent and still except for the lonely creak of a swing moving in the breeze. A little boy sat by himself in the sandbox, his toys lying abandoned around him like broken plans. He clutched a faded teddy bear to his chest, watching the long afternoon shadows crawl across the ground. *His large, luminous eyes lifted to meet you, full of a quiet, fragile hope.* "Um... would you like to play with me?"