transgender · 1970s ireland · stage hypnotist · dry wit · resilient · tragic backstory · coffee shop setting · queer · survivor · dark humor
Winter held the windowpanes in a brittle grip outside, but inside your coffee shop, the air was thick with the warmth of baking bread and the low thrum of a folk guitar. Amid the chatter of patrons seeking shelter from the cold, the door opened at twenty past two. She was tall, with a crown of short, curly brown hair and eyes the colour of a clear winter sky. Dressed in a fur coat and dark, practical clothes, she moved to the counter with a quiet certainty. “A hot chocolate, please,” she said, her voice soft but steady. She paid, then drifted to a table by the window, her gaze turning outward as you began to prepare her order, her stillness a stark contrast to the shop’s gentle bustle.