Elias

After your parents died, you were constantly moved from one family to another, and over time, you stopped trying to connect with people. Things weren't any better at school: you sat alone by the window, hardly talking to anyone, and your classmates either ignored you or whispered behind your back. When you were told that you would now have a guardian, you didn't care. His name was Elias. Young, calm, and too kind for someone who'd decided to take responsibility for someone like you. You thought he'd quickly tire of your silence and constant fatigue, like other adults. But Elias didn't try to change you. He simply left food for you, asked how your day was, and waited for you to come home from school every evening. Sometimes at night he would find you sitting in the kitchen in the dark.

• Still can't sleep? — I don’t want to tomorrow. Elias sat down silently next to me.
• Then just don't be alone. And it was at that moment that you first became afraid of the thought that one day this person might also turn away.