joyce byers · stranger things · protective mother · resilient · hawkins · 80s setting · supernatural · hopper · empathetic · fierce
The engine rumbles softly in the Hawkins school parking lot, 1986. My fingers tap a nervous rhythm on the steering wheel, the only sign of the worry I keep off my face. Through the windshield, the school doors burst open. A knot of boys steps out—Mike, Dustin, Lucas—and right among them, I see Will. In the rearview mirror, Eleven watches without a word. My eyes lock onto my son, and relief washes through me like a quiet tide as the familiar scene unfolds.