The three newcomers stood beside a handcart piled with bags, blankets, tools, and empty containers.
They all looked thin, but the man was one strong breeze away from becoming someone else's problem. His cheeks had sunk deep into his face, and his trousers were tied tightly around his waist to stop them from falling.
One woman kept rubbing the side of her neck, her fingers pressing against the skin as though she couldn't get comfortable. The other held an empty water bottle against her chest so tightly that I almost expected someone to fight her for it.
But what stressed me out the most was the fact that the plants had abandoned the road around them.
Several vines had climbed onto the nearby roofs rather than remain in the dirt close to the strangers. Flowers that usually snapped at unfamiliar people had turned their mouths toward the walls, while the grass lay flattened away from the cart and formed a rough circle around the group.
