Chakor -2021- Lolypop Original -

Chakor didn’t answer. She placed the lollipop in her mouth, let the sweetness bloom on her tongue, and closed her eyes.

It was her armor.

“Lollipop Original,” the wrapper said in bold, fading letters. Not the fancy, sour-blast ones from the mall. Just the original. The one that cost two rupees. The one her father used to bring her before he went to work on the other side of the city and never came back. Chakor -2021- Lolypop Original

“You have fire,” he said.