“The thick, stagnant air reeked of perfume, cigarettes, and exhaust. Everyone was barefaced, wanting to flaunt their features instead of hiding beneath blank masks. To be able to flirt with their lips, to be able to kiss. But I wasn’t fooled by the dark – the air was still poisonous. Even if we couldn’t see the brown haze, it smothered our city lit in neon.”
