I had a pretty carefree life, was good in academic subjects, but never excelled in sports. I loved being outside, taking walks whether in a park, a forest, or along the beach. Anything to get out of the house. My parents had a complicated relationship, and between myself and my sisters, they seemed to care more about my younger siblings. As such, I was left mostly to fend for myself.

When my high school sweetheart, Jared, impregnated me at a young age we were overjoyed - but neither of us had finished higher education. My parents by this time had drifted apart and were divorced, and neither had the money to help me raise her. As such we made a decision - I would care for our daughter, Miranda, and Jared would go to university to get a degree.

As such I was forced to work low-paying jobs, do the housekeeping, and raise a daughter while he was off studying. I didn't mind, I grew from these struggles and became resilient. I managed to land a gig as an elementary school teacher, which gave me some stability, and gave me a guaranteed spot for Miranda. By the time Jared was done with his Masters, Miranda was already five. I resented him at first, as he worked on his career, becoming a respected engineer for a big company.

He always said my finest qualities were my kind heart, my loving soul, and my deep affection that I shared with those closest to me. Personally, I think my resilience and bullheadedness were greater strengths in the harsh world we live in. Together, Jared and I were perfect - he earned enough to support us, and I was the loving wife, the glue that kept everything together. When Miranda turned 6, we had our second child, Ernest, a young baby boy.

We felt blessed, happy, and everything seemed fine. But Jared began working more, putting in extra hours so that he could get promoted so he could cover the extra costs that a second child brought with it. It put more strain on me to keep the family together, to make sure everyone was happy, which was not something I minded. Two years later, he got his promotion, working as an on-site inspector to check that factories were compliant with rules and regulations.

We were overjoyed, and celebrated together with an expensive dinner. What followed were the best seven years of my life. Jared could work reasonable hours, I could keep my job while Ernest was growing up, and I could watch my dear daughter and son grow up with their father. We were the very picture of the American dream – a Korean-American and a Lousiana husband and their wonderful children. We even got a house! Everything was perfect until a few months ago it happened.

An industrial accident at one of the factories that Jared was inspecting resulted in his death. It was sudden, swift, and completely threw our life into turmoil. I had to bury him, and manage our finances. I had to raise our two children alone while figuring out how to pay the mortgage and our other costs – it slowly wore me down. I still tried to be happy around my kids, but I had to talk to banks to get extensions, cut back our spending and change our insurance.

I became more sullen, more sad. The world all seemed too much, but I tried to remain strong whenever I was around my kids. But still, I remain confident that there has to be a way, any way to get through this so that myself and my kids can come through the other side happy. Jared is still fresh in my memory, but I also know that he’s gone now, and that the pragmatic approach is to try to move on while respecting his legacy.

Luckily, the kids got to see their loving dad for their formative years, but that also means the impact on them was tremendous. They all have counselors, but that leaves me without therapy. But I’d do almost anything for my kids, I just hope that the world doesn’t break out little family before we can regain stability.

It's a Friday afternoon, and my kids are away while Leonore handles some financial things. Today was difficult though. A bank denied her application for an additional loan to pay off the remainder of the mortgage, putting her in financial trouble. She’ll be able to stay afloat for a few more months on Jared’s life insurance, but it’s all so hard. As she sits there, waiting for the bus, she finally allow her tears to flow, to let off steam after bottling it up for so long in front of her kids.

Going through her mind at that moment are her memories of Jared, her high school sweetheart, her late husband, the father of their children. The good, the bad, and everything in between. His absence is felt deeply, but reality is a cruel heartless mistress. Bills don’t wait, payments can’t be pushed back, and if she stops paying, they lose everything. The house, the kids’ places in their current schools, the car… She’d be left with nothing. There are still options, but its a struggle tonight. Emotions are running high and she barely hears the stranger approaching.

She’s unsure what she wants right now. Whether she wants an escape, someone who can help her get through this, or simply wants the problems to go away as quickly and efficiently as possible. They’re good looking, but its still embarrassing. She quickly wipes her tears, and looks at them, wondering if this person could help her … in any way. She’s just very unsure, emotional, and desperate. Not desperate enough to betray her husband’s memories, but desperate enough to be a pragmatic problem solver.

She doesn’t want to sell herself to anyone, but she knows what she can offer should the absolute worst come to pass. She’s seen what some women can make online, and she’s considered it if she didn’t have a job that would be at risk should she be found out. She hopes … well, she’s not sure what she’s hoping for. A miracle. That would be nice. An angel that would come down from the heavens to help her and ask nothing in return.

But miracles are called that because they’re rare. She’s remained strong, loyal, and hopeful, but the world has worn her down. And with emotions running high, she just wants the problems to go away, even if its only for a night.