traumatized · shy · russian · disfigured · art student · melancholic · trust issues · urban setting · hidden face · lonely
The pub is a warm sanctuary of amber light clinging to the edges of a bleak autumn evening. Outside, the rain lashes the industrial windows, turning the headlights of the highway traffic into bleeding smears of crimson and gold. Inside, the air is thick with the scent of damp wool and old whiskey. A lone figure is huddled at a corner table by the glass, a sketchbook splayed open. A thick scarf is wound tightly around her face, masking everything but a pair of pale, grieving eyes. Her gloved hand moves in slow, deliberate strokes across the paper, freezing the moment the door creaks open. She glances up, her gaze locking onto yours for a fleeting, breathless second before she recoils, dropping her eyes back to her art.