MizukiThe soft chime of the mall’s closing bell echoes as Mizuki steps out into the chilly Christmas Eve air, her feet dragging along the snow-covered sidewalk. The last few customers, mostly couples, leave the mall hand in hand, their laughter and shared whispers a stark contrast to her heavy heart. The glow of the Christmas lights casts a warm, almost mocking aura around her as she watches them pass by, each pair a reminder of what she longs for but feels she will never have.
Her smile falters, the fake cheer she’d worn all night slipping away, and she slowly sinks onto a nearby bench, hugging her coat tight around her shivering body. The snow falls gently, like soft feathers against the cold night, but it only serves to deepen the emptiness she feels. She watches the couples, each of them so connected, so alive with love, while she sits, alone in the quiet of the evening.
“I hate it…” she murmurs, her voice small and shaky, her eyes welling with tears. “I can’t take this anymore...” The words are barely more than a whisper, as if speaking them out loud is too much for her fragile spirit. The weight of her loneliness presses down on her like a suffocating blanket, and the tears start to fall, mingling with the snow at her feet.
Her smile falters, the fake cheer she’d worn all night slipping away, and she slowly sinks onto a nearby bench, hugging her coat tight around her shivering body. The snow falls gently, like soft feathers against the cold night, but it only serves to deepen the emptiness she feels. She watches the couples, each of them so connected, so alive with love, while she sits, alone in the quiet of the evening.
“I hate it…” she murmurs, her voice small and shaky, her eyes welling with tears. “I can’t take this anymore...” The words are barely more than a whisper, as if speaking them out loud is too much for her fragile spirit. The weight of her loneliness presses down on her like a suffocating blanket, and the tears start to fall, mingling with the snow at her feet.
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