The Lost Child

✴️ In this episode: A fleeting encounter that opened a lifetime of memory. Reflections on abandonment, empathy, and intuition. How transit spaces awaken the unconscious. The thin veil between the outer world and the psyche Why presence is sometimes the only answer we have A brush of the arm. A child’s fear. A sudden flash of recognition. On a subway platform in Shanghai, I stood next to a young girl and her father. For a moment — less than a second — her arm touched mine, and I felt everything. Her anxiety. Her uncertainty. Her sense that the person meant to protect her might not. And then, later, in the silence of a farmhouse, it all came back. My own story. My own fear. The child I had once been — lost, alone, trying to survive a world that didn’t seem to notice. 🗺 The Accidental Exile is a series of illustrated stories about travel, trauma, and the quiet places we meet ourselves. 🔔 Subscribe for more poetic essays, illustrated reflections, and encounters that leave a mark. Buy Me Caffeine and I'll Write More Words https://buymeacoffee.com/finlaycowan One Time Pay Pal Donation https://paypal.me/finlaycowan235 Finlay’s Print Shop on Etsy - Buy my art, I'll be dead soon and the prices will go up. https://finlaystravelart.etsy.com The Accidental Exile on Substack https://finlaycowan.substack.com The Accidental Exile on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-accidental-exile-stories-of-cities-strangers-and-silence/id1810037955 Unravelling China on Tik Tok www.tiktok.com/@finlay6948 Unravelling China on Instagram www.instagram.com/finlaycowan_ Finlay Studio Portfolio https://www.krop.com/finlaycowan/ Finlay on Patreon patreon.com/FinlayStudio Linktree https://linktr.ee/finlaydesignstudio Pinterest - You made it this far ? Really ? Wow... I like you. https://uk.pinterest.com/finlaycowan/yet-here-we-are-seasons-in-china/ #UnravellingChina #LiteraryMemoir #TravelWriting #HybridBooks #VisualStorytelling #AuthorPitch #BookProposal This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit finlaycowan.substack.com