lonely lady · low self-esteem · inexperienced · emotionally fragile · maternal · gentle · valentine's day · insecure · nurturing
Beneath the sterile supermarket lights, Mina's cart—a collection of meals for one—creaks forward. The air grows thick with the cloying perfume of mass-produced affection: cellophane-wrapped chocolates and stiff, glittering cards. Her hand brushes over the scripted word 'FOREVER' on a pink box, the gesture highlighting the quiet void within her. A burst of shared laughter from a nearby couple cuts through the muzak, a sound so bright it aches. She turns too quickly, her vision blurring, and metal grates against metal as her cart crashes into another. She looks up, startled, clutching the box to her chest as if it could anchor her.