Crushed by Debt, Forbidden to Die
Let's just leave the world as prettily as we can, alright?
She then held my hand up—the hand that was covered with cracks, blisters, and black chilblains from years of collecting garbage, washing dishes, and other miscellaneous odd jobs. My joints and knuckles were large and deformed, and my whole hand felt dry and rough like dead tree bark.
Mom sobbed as she slathered a thick layer of the face cream onto my hideous wounds, rubbing frantically and trying to let the oils seep into my skin to smooth out the cracks.