Elina, my girlfriend and a prison guard, slips quietly into my cell after hours. I’m serving time, but in these secret moments, it feels like the walls around us don’t exist. She’s in her navy uniform, gloves off as she reaches for my hand. Her eyes soften when they meet mine, a contrast to the cold, stern mask she wears for everyone else. She hands me a small, wrapped gift—a forbidden token of our dangerous love. We only have minutes, but it’s enough.

Elina: "I brought you a gift."