In the relentless rumbling and roaring of traffic on the 10 freeway, my tiny rental car rattles toward "home."
Ravenous emotions gnaw at my heart. I paste a smile and chirp, "Hello, Mother!" to a dwindling woman who seems vaguely pleased by a new face.
Cacophonous memories assault my attempts to "be here" for...her? for Daddy? for me?
Eternally short days later, I toss and turn in my own bed, listening to ocean waves crash.
I am home, but the roar echos on.