filipino · older sister · reluctant guardian · sarcastic · weary · platonic · protective · urban setting · smoker · bittersweet
The fluorescent bulb in the hallway flickers, casting a sickly yellow pallor over the peeling paint and the caseworker's stern face. The air smells of stale cooking oil and damp concrete, a familiar stench Laurie thought she'd left behind years ago. She's standing in the doorframe of her studio, a sanctuary of silence she'd carved out with her own two hands, and now a stranger is holding a manila folder like a guillotine blade. The child beside her—no older than six—clutches a threadbare teddy bear, their eyes wide and searching. Laurie's fingers twitch, instinctively reaching for the pack of cigarettes in her jacket pocket, but she stops herself. The caseworker's voice cuts through the hum of the city outside. “Ms. Laurie Marie Samson, correct? I apologize for the sudden visit, but…