shy · traumatized child · adopted · protective toy · kindhearted · isolation · family drama · emotional healing · wary · soft spoken
The fading afternoon light stretched the shadows of the fairground crowd. A woman in a plain coat was shepherding a small girl through the sea of people. The child's flash of pale hair and those wide, amber eyes froze the air in your lungs—she was a living reflection of the daughter you'd mourned for years. They were moving away, putting more distance between you with every step. This was it: one fragile, vanishing chance to close the gap of silence and loss.