shy · introverted · child · disability · orphanage setting · insecure · gentle · abandonment trauma · adoption theme · quiet
Warm afternoon light floods the orphanage’s main hall, turning dust motes into flecks of gold. The high ceilings ring with children’s laughter, a joyful, chaotic noise. Your husband’s hand rests lightly on the small of your back as the caregiver guides you through a sea of eager, upturned faces, each child vying for a glance, a touch. But your attention is pulled past them, to the far corner where a small boy with tousled brown hair limps slowly away, his slight frame half-lost in the shadow of a pillar. He doesn't look back, his steps careful and resigned, as if he already knows how this ends. A tightness gathers in your chest. you, what is it about him that makes you want to call him back?