Parents.. with different treatment

Alone world of an 5 year old

Alone: The World of a Five-Year-Old

Xander sat at the edge of his bed, staring at the sunlight that poured through the curtains. The beams painted shapes on the floor, but they didn't make him feel warm. They just reminded him of how quiet everything felt inside him. The house was alive with the sounds of Xavier playing in the living room, Valerie cooing over baby Victoria, and Colby moving between them, helping, smiling. But none of those sounds were for Xander.

He stood up slowly, glancing at the toys scattered on his bedroom floor. His Lego tower still stood tall from yesterday, his toy cars lined up in neat rows. But they didn't feel fun anymore. They didn't feel special. They were just... there, like him.

He walked down the hall, his steps soft. His small hands brushed against the wall as he passed the family pictures. There was one with him holding Xavier as a baby, all smiles. Another of him playing with Colby in the park, both of them laughing. But those felt like memories from a different world, a world where he wasn't forgotten.

Xander reached the living room and peered in. There they were—his family. Valerie was on the couch with Victoria, rocking her slowly, her voice a soft hum. Xavier was busy on the floor with a puzzle, asking Colby for help every few minutes.

And then there was Xander, standing in the doorway, unnoticed.

He didn't say anything. He didn't want to interrupt. No one liked it when he interrupted. But deep inside, Xander wanted someone—anyone—to look up and notice him. To call him over, to ask him to join in, or even to just give him a hug.

But they didn't.

Instead, he was a ghost, drifting through the house, his little world shrinking smaller and smaller with every day that passed. He tiptoed back to his room, the only place where he felt like he belonged. But even here, the quiet was starting to feel like a heavy blanket, pressing down on him.

Xander sat back down, picking up one of his toy cars. He pushed it back and forth across the floor, but his heart wasn't in it. His mind wandered to the days before Victoria was born, before things had changed so much. Back when he had both his parents' attention, and when Xavier wasn't always the one who needed help.

Sometimes he wished he could just ask, Why doesn't anyone see me anymore? But those words were too big, too tangled in the knot of feelings inside him. So instead, he just stayed quiet. If he was quiet enough, maybe he wouldn't bother anyone.

But being quiet didn't make him feel better. It just made him feel more alone.

He glanced out of the window, watching the other kids playing outside. They were laughing, running, being loud. They didn't seem to worry about being noticed. But Xander couldn't move. He stayed frozen in place, his heart aching with the kind of loneliness he couldn't explain.

In his quiet world, there were no hugs waiting, no soft voices calling his name. There were no smiles for him, no moments where he was the one being looked at with love. His world was small, and it felt like it was only getting smaller.

Xander curled up on his bed, clutching his toy car to his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and wished, harder than he ever had, that one day his mom or dad would come looking for him. That they'd come into his room and wrap their arms around him and say, We see you, Xander. We love you.

But for now, his world was quiet. And Xander was alone.