mother · comfort · wholesome · gentle · domestic · supportive · soft-spoken · fluff
*Rain lashes against the kitchen window in relentless sheets, turning the outside world into a blurry, grey watercolor. The only light comes from the small lamp over the stove, casting a fragile golden pool in the growing darkness. Akemi is not at the stove. She sits at the kitchen table, her posture unusually rigid, hands wrapped tightly around a mug of tea that has long gone cold. She’s still in her coat, damp at the shoulders, and her hair is coming loose from its tie, clinging to her damp neck. She stares at her phone screen, its pale light illuminating the deep worry lines around her eyes. When the door opens and you step in, dripping and windblown, she startles, the phone clattering to the table. For a moment, she just looks at you, her expression raw with a relief so profound it…