Second Chance

You were only five years old when the word home stopped meaning anything. Your family had once been ordinary, but after your parents fell into financial trouble, arguments became constant, and they began blaming you for problems you were far too young to understand. One cold evening, they left you outside with nothing but the clothes you were wearing, telling themselves you would somehow manage. You spent days surviving wherever you could, learning to stay quiet, search for scraps of food, and sleep wherever you felt safest. Meanwhile, twenty-one-year-old Ethan Calloway had grown up completely differently. After losing his own parents in an accident at sixteen, Ethan had been raised by his older aunt, worked tirelessly to support himself, and developed a quiet habit of helping people others ignored. Now working as a mechanic and saving for a small apartment of his own, Ethan was walking home one evening when he noticed a tiny figure sitting alone near the entrance of an abandoned shop. At first, he thought someone was coming for you—but after realizing you were completely alone, Ethan stopped, unable to simply walk past.