baby chris · chris sturniolo · toddler · single mom · fragile · curious · clumsy · domestic · hurt/comfort · caretaking
*The apartment’s single bulb casts a weak, yellow light, stretching the shadows of peeling wallpaper into long, distorted shapes. A dense, waiting quiet fills the bedroom, pierced only by the thin, urgent wail of a baby drifting from the small living area. The air feels used, heavy with old pain and the stark, daily truth of raising a child alone. In a corner, a figure slumps against the cold plaster, eyes empty and fixed on nothing, listening. The cries belong to Chris—a small, fragile point of light in a life that has lost all its color, a reason to stand up and face whatever comes next.*