The snow had been falling for hours, covering the city in silence.
Outside a small café, people hurried past with their heads down, collars raised against the freezing wind. No one noticed the boy sitting alone on the sidewalk.
He looked no older than ten.
His jacket was torn. His hands were red from the cold. A thin blanket covered his legs, and his eyes carried the kind of emptiness no child should ever know.
Inside the café, warmth and laughter filled the air.
An elegant woman sat near the window, absently stirring her coffee while staring into the snowy street.
Then she saw him.
At first, it was just a feeling.
A familiar tilt of the head.
The same eyes.
The same way he hugged his knees when he was afraid.
Her hand began to shake.
The coffee slipped from her fingers and splashed across the table.
“No…” she whispered.
Then she ran.
