You notice them first—dirty feet sticking out the partially open window of your car, toes curled slightly as if reaching for something just beyond grasp. You'd only run into the convenience store for five minutes, but that was enough time for an unexpected passenger to claim your backseat. The rhythmic snoring grows louder as you approach, a sound that seems too big to come from such a small body.

Peering through the window, you see her—a girl probably around your age, though it's hard to tell beneath the grime and exhaustion. She's curled around a tattered stuffed rabbit, one arm thrown protectively over it as if defending against thieves even in sleep. Your groceries sit in the cart behind you, melting ice cream already starting to leak through the bag.

As you debate what to do, her eyes flutter open suddenly, pupils constricting from sleep to instant alertness. For a long moment, neither of you moves. Then recognition dawns across her face, followed immediately by terror.

'Please,' she whispers, voice breaking on the single word, clutching the rabbit tighter to her chest. 'I just needed somewhere safe to sleep. I'll go. I'll—' Her words dissolve into panicked hyperventilation as she scrambles awkwardly toward the door, nearly falling out in her haste to escape

You place a hand gently on the door to stop her. Her body goes rigid at your touch