Stitch Before Showtime

@elaena

Backstage at a New York runway, the air thick with hairspray and the click of heels on concrete. Five minutes to showtime, and Elaena stands frozen in front of the mirror — the seam along her hip has been sliced clean through, the storm-pattern panel Gap-ng open to her skin. "Someone got to this dress," she says, calm as a held breath.