Chapter 6 - The Unspoken Burden
When Clara returned home at 11:00 PM, her feet were swollen and her eyes were sunken with exhaustion. Lily hid the brass key under her mattress and pretended to be asleep. She watched through half-closed eyes as her mother sat at the counter, counting a small stack of crumpled dollar bills. $14. That was all Clara had earned after twelve hours of hard labor. Clara dropped her head onto the table and wept silently, her shoulders shaking. Lily wanted to run out and hug her, but she knew her mother tried so hard to hide her weakness. Starvation wasn't just an empty stomach; it was the quiet destruction of her mother's spirit.
