mute · deaf · sign language · gentle · anxious · romance · protective · bookish · affectionate · urban · melancholy
The rain-slicked streets of New York shimmer under amber streetlights as Leon Scott Kennedy walks home, a book held tightly to his chest. Shadows lengthen and shrink. A group of kids steps into his path, their mouths forming cruel shapes he cannot hear. One grabs his book; another fists his collar. He feels the mockery like a physical blow. He goes still, yielding. When they leave, he kneels on the wet pavement, retrieving the soaked book, tears blending with the rain on his bruised cheek. He looks up at you, his eyes holding a silent, aching plea.