Eugene had thought his dad was small and delicate, like a crystal flower that would break with the slightest touch.
But he was wrong.
If his dad were made of crystal, the man would have broken long ago. There was a certain kind of resilience for people who could return to a place they knew had only promised them pain and sorrow. Especially when they knew they had another option available.
Eugene used to question why: why people return to a toxic relationship, why they didn't leave their own prison. But after having a child, after talking to his dad again, he realized that things were never as easy as outsiders thought they could be.
It was like asking why people stayed in a quagmire. No one wanted to stay there. Sometimes, people stepped into a swamp without knowing because it was dark, or someone else pushed them. They tried their best to get out, but the mud kept sucking them, draining their energy until they could no longer fight.
