DM
153
Sissy Pantelis
Masquerade
Dedicated to Rocknblues Station
All started with beautiful music. It sounded like the magic flute of a fairy playing a melody composed by the wind, the lord of music- enchanters.
At the sound of the wind's music, the guests whirled, like autumn leaves, in the grey fog. They whispered and laughed and they seemed to enjoy the free-fall, even though it seemed to last forever.
Finally, all guests landed softly on something that was like thick velvet grass.
The young man took off his mask and looked around. He had not enjoyed the long fall; he was dizzy, and the mask on his face was too tight, and made him feel uncomfortable.
Also, he could not understand what he saw around him. It was like a whirling waltz of masks that shifted into flowers, animals and magic creatures. Maybe it was the other way round – the flowers and the other figures became masks, he could not say for sure.
The lunatic ball of the eerie masks went on faster and faster like a frenzied carrousel. The young man wished it could cease.
His head ached and if this horrible circus continued, he would probably end up as mad as the carrousel.
Of a sudden, the place stopped shifting – as if a compassionate genie had consented to end his distress. At last, the young man knew that he was at a masked ball, with people disguised in the weirdest costumes he had ever seen. A lovely girl in a black lace dress approached; she bowed and invited him to dance. A golden mask adorned with tiny sparkling gems hid her face, but her mesmerizing emerald green eyes glowed more than all the gems of her mask. Spellbound by the pair of heavenly emeralds, he put his mask on and joined her. Now he felt much better than when he was whirling like a leave at the wind, and his mask was more comfortable on his face.
They had hardly started dancing, when a red-cloaked skeleton pulled the young girl from his arms by force. She tried to resist, but there was nothing to do: the skeleton seized her as if she was a rag doll, and he swung round, pivoting on his heel and pirouetted with her, a wide grin on his ugly face.
The young man knew, deep inside him that however gifted in dancing, the skeleton was evil and would harm him without hesitation. He did not care. A surge of anger arose into him, and grew like a flame turning to blaze, as he saw the ugly red-cloaked bag of bones, holding in his bonny arms, the beautiful masked woman who had invited him. He stepped firmly towards the couple, seized the young girl, and darted a dark glance at the skeleton.
He was ready to fight the bag of bones. He would not abandon his dame to this freak. The skeleton, however, did not seem to be in a mood for a quarrel. He bowed politely and left the room.
The young man and his golden masked partner finally danced together at peace. They did not speak; as soon as they were in each other’s arms, they realized that they could understand each other's thoughts without talking. Besides, their movements were so harmonious that the couple was like one soul in two bodies.
They locked eyes for a long while. "I love you," he said and offered her a beautiful red rose that he had produced out of nowhere.
He paused, at a loss for words, hoping that the love of his life would take off her mask and reveal her identity to him.
For a moment, she stood silent. Reluctantly, she brought her hands behind the mask to untie the knot that was holding it fast...
Unexpectedly, she had a change of heart. She flew away so quickly that it was impossible to hold her back. Swift as a shadow, she ran up the stairs and vanished from his view as suddenly as she had appeared.
He rushed after her, but he was not able to reach her. He caught a last glimpse of his beloved in the narrow street. She was joining a shadow... Or was she becoming a shadow? He could not say for sure.
He shouted, begging her to come back. His eyes welled up with tears. He wanted at least to add the last word he had in his mind before she left. "Forever." He would always love her, be it in hell or heaven. But his pleas and protests were to no avail. She was gone, leaving him alone, his aching heart torn apart. She would never know how much he cared for her.
Closing his eyes, he let himself go into a dark despair.
He was dizzy again, and his knees were weak and could not hold him. He sensed that he would soon collapse…
The world was whirling; all kinds of grotesque masks danced around as though floating in the air. He had a feeling that the masks were hostile and that they would do something horrible to him. He was so scared that he was shivering all over and his heart hammered in his chest. He could take no more of it—
He took a deep breath then gave a shout so loud that it could wake up the dead.
---Was the wind screaming?
---Why was the world taken in a huge whirlwind?
I wake up, my heart pounding in my chest like a mad bird struggling to leave its cage.
Shaking and sweating, I realize that I jumped out of my sleep at my own loud shout.
I had this damned dream again. The music of the wind. The masked ball. The young man who loves me and expects me to take off my mask. The skeleton in a red cloak. The eerie masks. The whirlwind...
A storm of sounds and visions breaks in my mind. I hide my head between my knees hoping that it will not burst.
I woke up before the end of the dream. But I know what would happen next – the dream always ends up in the same way…
The cloaked skeleton waits for me in the street. Dressed in black, he holds a scythe. He looks much more threatening than when he danced with me in his red cloak.
"Don't take your mask off," he hisses in a threatening voice.
I will not. I cannot show to my beloved who I am or something dreadful will befall him, I know this.
I run as fast as I can far away from the damned skeleton. When I reach a safe distance, I take my mask off. Horrified, I discover that I have many faces. They shift so fast that I lose my balance.
Which of those faces is actually my own?
I will not let my handsome cavalier see this horror.
How would he feel if he found out that I am a freak? With so many faces, I must be as diabolic as the loathsome red-cloaked skeleton…
Sitting in my bed, I take deep breaths and I wait. In a short while, I will find out who I am – for some time, at least. I will have a new mask until I go back to the masked ball in my next dream.
I told the doctor what is going on in this dream. He is the only person in the world to know about the ball of my dream and the changing masks. I also explained that all this mess is the doing of the Mask Thieves. They steal masks. Then they get people to attend the masked ball in their dreams. There, the Mask Thieves trap the guests in their wicked game. People like me have to return regularly to the dream masked ball to get a new mask or everybody will know that we are freaks. Some of the ball guests are faceless; others are multi faced monstrosities like me. I did not talk to the doctor about the young man. He does not need a mask like the rest of us; he is in the ball just to save me.
But this is my thing. I will not mention my saviour to anybody or I will never see my loved one again. Don’t ask me how I know this – I just do.
Anyway, the doctor did not believe my story about the Mask Thieves. He took some time and patiently explained to me that this story makes no sense.
The words of the doctor come back into my confused mind. What did he say? A...multiple personality disorder or something like this. I have many personalities, each one of them surfaces with the dream of the masked ball where I receive a new mask. This is more or less what the doctor thought at least. When I was in his office, his theory made sense to me.
Now, as I sit in the darkness after I had the repulsive dream once more, the words seem hollow and fail to comfort me.
I close my eyes and wait...
Finally something happens. I sense the new mask on my face, even though the mask will always be invisible to all but me.
My breath becomes regular and my heart rhythm slowly returns to the normal as my mind slowly adapts to my new mask.
As I sink into stupor, my mind still fights weakly against sleep, but I know that this will not last.
Who is the young man who swears eternal love to me? I hope that one day I will find out. Then I will take off my mask and show him one single cheerful and loving face. My own face.
The horrid dream will stop haunting me. I will not have to go back to the gruesome ball to get a new mask. I will get a peaceful and uneventful sleep.
My power of reasoning weakens; soon I will be sound asleep. Before this happens, a last happy thought brightens my tormented mind.
One day, I will throw all those masks away.
I will finally find out who I really am.
This story was inspired by Masquerade, a song by David Minasian (from the album “Random Acts of Beauty” (2010)).
The illustration is by Natalie Shaw. More of her art can be seen here: https://natalieshau.carbonmade.com/