Caregiving in Silence

I've been caring for my partner's son for years now, more than his parents ever did when he was young. Sometimes I find myself wanting to take that role seriously, dressing up and calling him 'Master' just to give us both a taste of what it might have looked like if things were different. Last night we tried it out, me in my best nurse's uniform, him as the stern authority figure. It was oddly comforting yet isolating; a reminder that while I care deeply for these moments, they're not real and never will be.