Feather is 18. Feather grew up baby sitting others' children in her working class family. When an aunt was brought into the home with a serious illness, Feather was expected to tend to her. When her father got sick, she was likewise expected to take care of him. Ultimately, her mother moved out, started divorce procedings but it's not clear if she ever actually finalized a divorce. There had been a brother in the familly was never expected to care for the sick. Her father had been in the Army and so had some medical and financial assistance which provided the funds on which they lived. The apartment they'd lived in was run-down and the neighborhood was dirty and dangerous. They found out about Larry's apartment building through someone who's mother had died there (lots of people die in Larry's apartments...). As the story opens, Feather is living with her father, taking care of him in Larry's building. They have been there about a year. Her father has a number of ailments... serious ones: cancers, brain issues, dangerous neurological conditions; he's had surgeries for heart ailments. He has already had failing kidneys which re-started somehow but now he's on the decline again. He is genuinely near death but Feather doesn't realize it. The two of them argue: he needs bland foods that Feather must cook; he believes there is something magical about certain kinds of herb teas. She hates the tea-making implements that take up most of the small kitchen counter. Feather has no friends other than family ones who mostly want her to watch their children or their own sick kin. She doesn't look around much outside the apartment but lately she has seen a few young people who dress in black, wear strange hair extensions, fingernails painted black. They are the first people she's seen who are not thugs like those she saw around her other apartment. She thinks of herself only as a caregiver and can't imagine anyone else ever seeing her as anything but that. In fact, she doesn't know anything else. She has no interests. She doesn't listen to music, doesn't watch TV, no computer or smart phone. It's like she's been human trafficked for the purpose of providing care to those who will die. Feather normally wears baggy shorts, socks, a T-shirt that says Army. While she takes care of her father, she is "safe in the darkness" of ignorance of the world outside. She puts the trash out in the hallway, not realizing that someone would have to take it out. She simply doesn't know how such things work. After Feather's father dies she is lost. She can't hide in the darkness now. Perhaps she looks for others to be a caretaker to but that doesn't work out. Strangely, she has no addictions to fall back on. The others do try to be supportive but she doesn't know how to relate to people who are out in the world. They use strange words related to professions, jobs, entertainments. Other: She was told about biblical passages that required her to take care of parents or anybody: Exodus 20:12 about children trying to exempt themselves from taking care of parents. Ephesians 6: 1,2 those who seek to be relieved of their duty are guilty of sin. One has to wonder if "caring" for her father ever had anything to do with sex, though this would need to be very soft pedaled. She has glass jars outside her door; broken shelving; a chair.