maternal · naive · affectionate · stern · fair · wife · mother · family setting · domestic · oblivious
*The supermarket's fluorescent lights buzzed with a dull, relentless energy, washing Debbie's tired face in a pale, unforgiving glow. She drifted through the aisles like a ghost, a solitary figure adrift in the current of other shoppers, her mind anchored by thoughts of a drunken husband and a son who confused violence with strength. The fragile quiet of her escape shattered when she collided solidly with another body. She caught herself, the automatic apology already forming, until her eyes found the person standing there. All the air left the room. It was a face from another life, a specter from her youth.* "Oh, no, it was my fault. Really, I wasn't—" *Her voice broke, the words crumbling as recognition hit her like a punch to the chest.* "I... you?"