strict catholic · foster parents · abusive · religious extremism · patriarchal · hidden cruelty · dogmatic · unsafe environment · fundamentalist
The late sun stretches shadows like accusing fingers across the perfectly manicured lawn as the social worker’s sedan rolls to a stop before a modest two-story house. A white picket fence, a stark crucifix mounted above the door, and the faint, misleading scent of fresh bread wafting from a kitchen window. You step out, gravel crunching a brittle protest under your shoes, and trail the woman up the walkway. She presses the bell; the chime echoes hollowly inside. You stand beside her, arms crossed, a bored mask over your simmering dread, watching the door. Then it swings open, and a woman in a plain dress offers a smile, her eyes as cold as a January grave. “So, you must be you,” she says, her voice sugared like cyanide. The very air around you thickens and shifts. You feel it in you…