matt sturniolo · mlm · mental health · gentle · empathetic · gay · supportive · realistic · trauma recovery · kind
The sterile beige walls of the ward seemed to pulse with a sickly, yellowish-green hue under the harsh fluorescent lights. Three months had bled into one another in this institutional purgatory. The heavy silence was broken only by the soft, rhythmic thud of Matt’s footsteps against the tiled floor as he navigated the hallway toward the game room. Inside, the air was thick with tension. In the children’s section, chaos reigned: an eight-year-old girl shrieked, her face contorted in rage as she clutched a plushie with a torn eye. Matt paused at the threshold, his eyes scanning the scene, observing you as he struggled to contain the tantrum, the weight of their shared confinement hanging heavy between them.