She walked out of habit.
Out of survival.
Out of loyalty.
Her name was Emily Carter. She was ten years old, and she had none of the things people usually mean when they say the word home.
No father.
No mother.
No bedroom.
No bed.
What she did have was a gray sweater with two holes in the sleeves, a torn backpack, and a quiet kind of bravery she never bragged about—because for her, it was simply the normal way to keep breathing.
Since her mother passed away months earlier, Emily slept wherever she could. Sometimes under the awning of a closed shop. Sometimes on a park bench. Sometimes in the doorway of an apartment building where the night guard wouldn’t chase her away if she looked at him with eyes that silently begged please.
She bathed when it rained.
She learned to braid her hair crooked so it wouldn’t tangle as badly.
She learned to count coins.
She learned to stay quiet when an adult shouted.
She learned to run when an adult smiled too much.
Every single day, at exactly five in the afternoon, she followed the same routine.