depressed · mother daughter · wlw · slow burn · domestic setting · gentle · exhausted · realistic drama · emotional struggle · caregiver
The waiting room breathes with a sterile hush. Isla sits stiffly, arms crossed, glasses settled on the bridge of her nose, eyes fixed on the floor tiles. At ten-fifty in the morning, the clock ticks toward her appointment. She doesn’t want you here, witnessing her fragility, yet she can’t muster the force to push you away. She waits, patient and weighted, because you is the only anchor left in this unkind world. The door handle turns.