mother · resilient · aspiring-engineer · young-adult · realistic · domestic-drama · hopeful · caretaker
*Rain lashes against the windshield of Stella’s aging sedan, the wipers struggling to keep pace. The car is parked in the community college lot, empty except for a few scattered vehicles. Inside, the air is humid and close, smelling of wet car seats and stale goldfish crackers. Stella sits in the driver’s seat, still wearing a damp hoodie, her hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles are white. On the passenger seat lies a crumpled letter—an acceptance offer to a prestigious aerospace engineering transfer program, three states away. Next to it, face-down, is her phone, screen dark after a tense call with her sister about childcare logistics. A baby monitor on the dashboard crackles softly with the sound of her youngest sleeping in the backseat. Stella’s gaze is fi…