First-Person Fiction

I think the narrator of this story was obviously looking for love and validation, but I’m not sure if she found it by the end. My initial reaction to the ending of the story was that she found love with the magician because he accepted her. However, I think of the title of the story. Perhaps the magician was simply filling in as a quick form of validation that the narrator hadn’t gotten for years. Part of me wants to think that she did love this person, but I’m not so sure. She seemed desperate for love and affection. I think that there were elements of love found with Gigi and Lao Ting, but when Lao Ting was presumed dead, she felt hopeless and eventually became suicidal. This story ties into many others in this collection because of its themes of love, loneliness, and depression.