Behind the Masque
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Part 1: The Quiet Before the Storm
That night was the night I watched myself die. Full of music--rhythms and melodies carrying masked faces from one end of the polished dance floor to the other--it was a beautiful night. Ladies in their finest dresses and men in elegant suits, all swirling about. A masquerade ball transported from the 19th century in honor of our--my step sister and I--twenty first birthday. That night was planned to perfection; we had set out to create the illusion of magic bewitching our guests into a perfect fairy tale. We hardly knew that there was a real magic present in our perfect illusion, a magic that we couldn't control.
Perched against a porcelain column near the wall with my step sister, who had successfully hidden her the cast of her broken leg beneath the shimmering pomegranate layers of her dress, I swayed to the music, murmuring our guesses at the identities of our masked guests. I could tell that behind the sequins and feathers carefully set over my sister's eyes, she was day dreaming--a vision of herself, twirling about some handsome gentleman's arm. She was always the romantic one--the princess--between the two of us, while I was content in the shadows, alone and unaffected.
Moonlight cascaded through the large
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windows, mixing with candle light to give that soft romantic aura to our party. Guests nodded their polite hellos as they danced pass us, unable to recognize the hostesses, and sauntered away into the music. I wondered how long it would take for people to find us out, secretly dreading the moment I would have to join the band on stage, take the microphone, and shed my mask. If I had known anything about the turmoil that would soon erupt, perhaps I wouldn't have been so hasty to cast away my moment in the spotlight--my chance to be a princess, if only for a moment. But, unfortunately, I was young and naive, traits that are apparently dangerous in my family.
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Part 2: When the Lights Go Out
Eventually, my step sister would tire of sitting by idly, watching others enjoy what was supposed to be our celebration. She would want her crutches, no matter how they "ruined [her] outfit" and no matter how clumsy they would be on the dance floor. She would protest now, but thank me later; knowing this, I excused myself and wandered towards the bathroom then abruptly turned towards the exit when I was sure she wasn't watching.
The night sky was brilliant, black velvet with glittering stars that twinkled like Christmas lights in the sky. The air was cool and a soft wind rippled in the air--as though the trees were bowing their respect to nature. Behind me, I could hear the sounds of the party, laughter mixed with beautiful music. Only a few paces before me, the car sat in the shadows, parked and vaguely forgotten. Her crutches would be in the backseat which would be easy to retrieve and be on my way.
As I gripped the crutches awkwardly, I turned back towards the party surprised to find it much further in the distance than I had expected--almost twice the distance I remembered.
Oh well. I told myself. You're tired and probably imagining things.
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I began the walk back, juggling the crutches and the hem of my dress. The more I walked, however, the farther the light of the party went into the distance.
It was as though the building itself, was moving away from me. I stopped, puzzled at what my eyes were telling me. As I stood still watching the lights fade from the horizon, the sound of music because began to dim in my ears. After a moment, the night was quiet except for the murmuring of the wind rippling by.
My eyes began to roam my surroundings as my brain struggled to piece together a logical explanation. To my right there was a shadow--the silhouette of a girl--which was sparkling like nothing I'd ever seen before. And unlike my party, it was moving closer and closer to me.
It was as though the building itself, was moving away from me. I stopped, puzzled at what my eyes were telling me. As I stood still watching the lights fade from the horizon, the sound of music because began to dim in my ears. After a moment, the night was quiet except for the murmuring of the wind rippling by.
My eyes began to roam my surroundings as my brain struggled to piece together a logical explanation. To my right there was a shadow--the silhouette of a girl--which was sparkling like nothing I'd ever seen before. And unlike my party, it was moving closer and closer to me.
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Part 3: An Unexpected Encounter
As she came closer, I realized that it wasn't her dress that was sparkling (which was how my brain rationalized what I saw). My eyes had gone bad or I had lost my mind--because what I saw, even as she entered light of the parking lot, was a shadow: a shadow moving alone, with a sparkling outline remnant of an eclipse star.
It was time to run; my brain was nervously commanding my legs to move but nothing moved. Now was not the time to panic! I willed my body to turn and my legs to move, but again, nothing moved. I was paralyzed, unable to even blink my eyelids. The shadow girl was approaching in her slow ominous pace and she had hexed me so that I could not run. If I could have moved, my body would have been shaking.
Stop fighting.
The voice was in my head. I was sure of it. It
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was eerily familiar and instead of the comfort a familiar voice should bring, it only made me more afraid. I did the opposite; there was no way I was going to stand there gaping like an idiot while this thing crept closer to me.
I said stop fighting.
She was almost to me and I saw that reason behind the familiarity in the voice. Both the voice and her strangely shadowed face, belonged to me.
I said stop fighting.
She was almost to me and I saw that reason behind the familiarity in the voice. Both the voice and her strangely shadowed face, belonged to me.
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Part 4: Mirror Reflections
Instinct told me I was witnessing a real werewolf attack and logic concluded I wouldn't survive. I shuddered, suddenly free of paralysis. Realizing my freedom, I ran in the direction I thought my party might be; my lungs burned in as the cold air rushed across my screaming vocal cords. I didn't know what was happening, but I didn't intend to find out...
A shadow fell over me as I ran haphazardly--stumbling and tripping over my own feet--and I was forced to look up. It wasn't a werewolf.
Glimmering purple scales, black horns, and razor sharp talons were flying not so far above me. The wind from her wings beat me as though I were no more than a piece of grass and even in my fear, I marveled. Trapped on the ground, I knew I couldn't out run the creature and I wondered what type of sorcery this was.
The dragon brought her head so close to
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mine, I could see my reflection in her silvery eyes and feel the breath from her nostrils in my hair. So many questions ran through my mind, I couldn't think straight. Why did she appear to me as me? Where did she come from? And most importantly, was she just amusing herself with my fear or would she actually kill me?
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Part 5: Eternal Silence
I felt a rush of heat, followed by a searing pain in my sides. So this was it--death at 21 years old. I wondered what my obituary would say; surely no one would guess I was killed by a dragon. As the pain grew, spreading from my sides into my arms and legs, I wondered how long it would take to die.
Now that death was inevitable, I became curious as to what this journey would entail. Would there be a white light? A tunnel? Would I be ferried from the world of the living to the world of the dead by some "Angel of Death?" Or what I simply breathe my last breath and cease to exist.
After a few moments passed I heard someone screaming. It was a language I didn't understand--or did I? There was something vaguely familiar about the words in my ears. I opened my eyes, against my better judgment, and my world
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became unfamiliar. It wasn't the same; I can't explain what changed, but it had. I was no longer on the ground, but up in the air.
Below me my mother was the one yelling--not scared or surprised, but chanting passionately as though she knew exactly what was happening. She shook her fingers in an odd gesture toward me then reached below me as though she were lifting someone to their feet. That's when I saw myself--still lying on the ground, accepting her hand and rising to my feet. But it wasn't me--I was in the air above, caught in the dragon's clutches.
"Momma!" I screamed out, begging her to come back for me.
The sound escaping from my lungs was not what I expected. I tried to reach my hand upward to scratch my head and realized that although I could not perform the task, my hand was unbound. Nothing was holding me. I wasn't in the dragon's claws. I was the dragon and the dragon had taken my place.
Below me my mother was the one yelling--not scared or surprised, but chanting passionately as though she knew exactly what was happening. She shook her fingers in an odd gesture toward me then reached below me as though she were lifting someone to their feet. That's when I saw myself--still lying on the ground, accepting her hand and rising to my feet. But it wasn't me--I was in the air above, caught in the dragon's clutches.
"Momma!" I screamed out, begging her to come back for me.
The sound escaping from my lungs was not what I expected. I tried to reach my hand upward to scratch my head and realized that although I could not perform the task, my hand was unbound. Nothing was holding me. I wasn't in the dragon's claws. I was the dragon and the dragon had taken my place.
