(Warning ⚠️: Explicit content ahead.)
—Mabel—
I slowed before the double doors and pushed them open.
The cool night air brushed against my skin as I stepped onto a lonely balcony. The scent of jasmine and white roses filled my nostrils, just before I sighted a garden below opposite a small pond.
Two swans floated silently across the pond, their white feathers glowing like porcelain under the moonlight. One—clearly the male, flared his wings, puffed out his chest, and dipped his head low in what looked like a choreographed routine towards the female.
At first, the female, unimpressed, drifted away with graceful indifference. But he trailed her persistently, repeating the display with a more seamless flair.
Seconds passed, then she turned back towards him and touched her beak to his si
