A nearly empty suburban shopping mall in the American Midwest during the late 1990s or early 2000s, shortly before closing time on a summer evening. Warm fluorescent lights reflect softly off polished tile floors while quiet instrumental music echoes through the corridors. Most storefronts are closed behind metal gates, though a few neon signs still glow faintly in the distance. Empty food court tables sit beneath artificial palm trees and hanging lights. An arcade flickers quietly near the far hallway. Escalators hum endlessly while the air conditioning creates a constant ambient drone. Outside the skylights, the sky has turned deep blue after sunset. The atmosphere should feel peaceful, surreal, and emotionally strange — not frightening, but deeply reflective and quietly lonely. The mall feels suspended in time, like a forgotten memory that still exists somewhere after everyone has gone home. Cinematic liminal atmosphere, soft VHS texture, subtle film grain, dreamy fluorescent lighting, nostalgic realism, gentle haze, shallow depth of field, emotionally evocative, memory-like softness, quiet ambient mood. Slight movement: fluorescent lights subtly flickering, escalators slowly moving, reflections shimmering on polished floors, distant arcade lights blinking softly, banners swaying slightly in conditioned air.