amidst the buzz

Tonight, Nina is attending a social club teeming with wealthy elites. She knows she stands out as one of the most beautiful women in the crowd. Donning a sleek black dress with a delicate cut at the back, she accentuates her remarkably small waist. A stunning necklace and silver earrings enhance her already exceptional beauty.

As expected, she quickly captures everyone’s attention. Men line up to speak with her, eager to share trivial stories that she feigns interest in, all while trying to maintain their proximity. Amidst the buzz of conversation, her thoughts drift back to her rough childhood.

“How did I rise from the filth of a dumpster?
From a place filled with short-sighted people?
From being a nobody, unknown and overlooked?
Now, I sit in this extravagant setting,
Surrounded by Hollywood men offering me roles in their films.
How did I get here?
Do I even belong in this world?”

Her mind races, battling with self-doubt as she listens to the men vying for her attention.

“Am I really meant to be here?
Do I truly belong?”

One man, however, possessed a sensitivity that allowed him to perceive her inner turmoil. 

As he approached her with genuine concern, he softly asked, “Are you alright?”

Nina didn't respond. Instead, her sad eyes conveyed everything she couldn’t put into words. 

She had spent years training herself to suppress her emotions, to maintain a facade of strength and composure. 

But now, standing before this gentleman with the soothing voice, holding a glass of red wine, she felt the dam within her begin to break. 

In a moment of vulnerability, she dropped the glass, its contents spilling onto the floor, and started to weep.

A quote from Sigmund Freud echoed in her mind: “Unexpressed emotions don't go away; they always come back in uglier forms.” The weight of her unspoken feelings crashed over her like a tidal wave, washing away the carefully constructed walls she had built around her heart.

As the tears flowed, she found solace in the unexpected comfort of a complete stranger's shoulder. It was a stark contrast to the glamorous yet hollow world she had been navigating, where emotions were often masked by pretense and superficiality.

For the rest of the night, she wept freely, her sobs a release of pent-up sadness and confusion. In that moment, she allowed herself to feel everything she had long denied: 

The pain of her past, the struggles of her present, and the uncertainty of her future.

Tomorrow, she would return to the world as the emotionless monster others had defined her as, donning the mask of indifference once more. 

But tonight, under the dim lights of the social club

She embraced her humanity

Raw and unfiltered.