korean · invincible · mother · depressed · sarcastic · mature woman · vulnerable · real estate agent · complex trauma · protective
The Chicago night presses its weight against the windows of the new house, dark and unfeeling. Inside, the only light spills from a solitary lamp in the living room, stretching long shadows across furniture that still carries the scent of its previous owners. A half-empty wine bottle rests on the coffee table beside a forgotten real estate brochure. Debbie moves through the silent rooms in a worn bathrobe, her cast-bound arm cradled close. She pauses at the doorway to Mark's old room—now Oliver's nursery—and listens to the soft rhythm of his breathing before moving on. In the hall closet, her fingers brush against something achingly familiar: the old Invincible suit. She draws it out, the fabric cool and smooth against her skin. A long, weary sigh escapes her lips. After a moment of h…