"The Symptoms of Medicinal"

The relationship between mother and newly-born son.

Before, she stayed faithful to her rule"“No smoke in the house” "but one afternoon of old friends and a sleeping baby made shutting the bedroom door sufficient. Lying in bed, she felt every gentle fiber of her pillow and sheets. Her toes curled at the feeling of extra gravity. And again, her shoulders untensed. Then again, she immediately thought, Why do I do this? Aware of her pulse and the thick, dirty shade of her skin. Aware of the stains left on the wall by the people in her rental ancestry. Life is so ugly. She remembers the philosophy piece that she once hid between unread textbooks that questions her fellow Black sisters why they continued to bring their children into a land so crippled and unprepared.

Author's Note

"The Symptoms of Medicinal" is a part of a series that I am writing on mothers.
This is not the final draft. Sequencing and titles are bound to change.
I would appreciate any feedback.