The boutique was quieter than it had been in weeks. Not silent, not empty, but holding that specific hush that comes when people are speaking in low tones, aware that too much noise might unravel something delicate. It wasn’t fear exactly, but awareness. A current running just beneath the skin.

I stood by the mirror in the back fitting room, adjusting the sleeve of a new sample blouse. Raw silk, off-shoulder, hand-dyed in a muted hue somewhere between smoke and lilac. I wasn’t sure it ...