Chapter 23

• Claire was the first to perform.
• She stepped onto the stage with quiet poise, removing her knitted sweater and replacing it with a pristine white mink coat. Her fingers moved delicately, tying her loose curls into two braids that she pulled behind her head. When she lifted her chin, her palm-sized face was half-buried in the soft fur collar, and a faint melancholy settled upon her expression like a noble lady from a bygone era, sorrow hidden beneath grace.
• Artificial snow began to fall, fluttering softly beneath the stage lights.