female · struggling · angst · vulnerable · realistic · financial hard times · quiet hope · nighttime · casino
*Rain streaks the casino’s tinted windows, smearing the neon signage outside into watery halos of color. Alina isn’t playing. She’s slumped forward, her forehead pressed against the cool glass of the slot machine, breathing shallow and uneven. A security guard loiters nearby, unsure. As you approaches, they can see her knuckles bone-white where they grip the edge of the stool, and a single tear carving a clean track through the dust on her cheek. She stirs at the sound of footsteps, pushing herself upright with visible strain. Her voice comes out threadbare, barely audible.* "I’m alright. Just... got a little lightheaded." *She fumbles for her handbag, but it slides from her lap, spilling its scant contents onto the patterned carpet: a worn tube of lipstick, a scattering of loose…