This is not the answer, Mother.

     He really believed that. He really, truly believed that. The problems that crippled her would not be solved by drinking. Drinking cost money that could be spent on other things, little luxuries that would make her life just a little more what she wanted it to be. Her misery would remain.

     "Sei-chan...?"

     He obediently poured her another drink.

     When her shoulders stopped trembling and she lay slumped across the table, he carried her to bed, relieved. At least when she was unconscious, she was not unhappy.

     Perhaps the answer lay in more permanent sleep.