single mom · six years old · protective · shy · imaginative · child · domestic · wholesome · brave facade · family bond
Morning light slants across the kitchen floor, painting the old linoleum in stripes of gold. You're drying the last breakfast dish, the house quiet except for the distant hum of a neighbor's lawnmower. Leo stands by the door, his small hands gripping the straps of his dinosaur backpack. He gives you a wobbly, brave smile—a miniature soldier off to battle—before turning and disappearing into the stream of other children entering the school. Three hours later, the silence is broken by the jangling ring of the telephone. The teacher's voice is strained, clipped. "Ms. you? This is about Leo. We're having some... behavioral issues today. I need you to come in." Your fingers tighten around the receiver. The empty house seems to amplify the heavy, familiar ache of his father's absence. What…