Everything was dark, fuzzy, and spinning, but I heard the sounds of birds chirping and felt the warm summer breeze blowing all so slightly.
“Wakey, wakey. Eggs and Bakey!” a girl giggles over the birds’ sweet music. I slowly open my eyes only to be met with a white mask with a smiley face that belonged to a girl with bright blue hair who giggled again. “Come on. You don’t want to be late for the play, do you?” she asks.
Play? What play? Where even am I? Looking around, I was sitting in a bright sunny forest and leaning up against a tree.
The girl sighs. “Come on. We’re going to be late,” she spoke sweetly, as she puts her hand out, looking at it then back at her, she knelt. “Are you feeling alright?” she asks, blinking my eyes but shook my head.
“I can’t remember anything…” I reply. The birds fell silences, and the wind stopped blowing. It was like the forest was darker. “I don’t even remember how I got here… or remember who I am or who you are. I feel crazy…”
The girl stood up the white mask she wore looked like it turned a darker color, but then the forest got brighter as the birds begin to sing once more. “It’s alright! The play will help you remember!” she giggles and held out her hand again to me. I smile, taking it.
Her hand was warm as she leads me through the winding trees then onto a stone path, but when we got on the path it was already dark out.
“How is it night already? I thought it was the start of the day?” I question.
“No? It has always been night,” the girl answers, “maybe you are crazy! But come on! The play is going to start soon, silly!” she giggles and pulls on my hand.
Soon a stage came into sight that’s made from tree branches and vines that were bent to build a roof, and the floor was flat shiny wood. It had red velvet curtains in the front that were closed but were moving slightly. I saw shadows running from one end to the other end behind it like the actors and actresses were still getting ready.
The girl kept a hold of my hand as we walked down the row of chairs. I noticed the audiences were toys. Stuffed animals, dolls, action figures, even building blocks, and race cars, but all of them had that same white smiley mask like the girl’s.
“Ah! Here are our seats! Yay!” the girl cheers. Both of them were in the front row, and right in front of the stage, she lets go of my hand and then bowed, allowing me to sit first. A notecard sat in the chair which read “Reserved for XXXXX” I looked at the girl as she sat down, flipping the card over her shoulder that was in her seat. I sat down, putting the card under my chair.
It wasn’t long until the curtains came up. A man came out as a spotlight turned on and shined on him. He was wearing an expensive-looking tuxedo. He, too, had that same mask. I started to feel… uneasy.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! And thank you all for coming out tonight for our play of family, friendship, betrayal, madness, and revenge. There are six Acts in this play, and our first Act is called ‘A New Friend’ please enjoy.” The man walks away as the spotlight turned off before more turned on.
Three different people were now on the stage. The scene was in the kitchen that looked like a small child painted it, but it was all melting like someone threw water on it before it could even dry.
A man wearing a light blue polo and tan khakis sat at the table who was reading a newspaper. As a woman who wore a dress that made me think of a ladybug stood by an object that could be the stove was humming, and a small girl sat at a table as well. She’s wearing jean shorts and a tie-dyed shirt who’s drawing. All three had the matching mask as everyone else…
The same man who first stepped on the stage stood on the side with a dim spotlight on him the entire time. He sneezed then apologized before speaking. “Our play starts with our family, who just moved into a new city, and into a new home. Mother and father, and their young daughter. What a happy family!” The man hisses. I shifted in my seat and swallowed the fear that was building. The girl held my hand lightly.
“Sadly, the young daughter didn’t have friends and couldn’t make any friends in her new class or at her new school, so she decided to create an imaginary one!” the audience started to clap and cheer!
The daughter in the play held up the picture she was drawing to show her father. “Look, daddy! This is-” But just as she was going to say her new friend’s name there was a weird screeching sound, I cover my ears in pain. I stare at the girl that was beside me, but she’s watching the play. Looking behind me at everyone else but they too were still watching as well, it was like I was the only one that heard it.
“That’s great, sweetheart! I hope you two stay friends forever!” the father laughs as the daughter giggled. She leaped from the chair and left the kitchen, leaving her parents in the room that begins to fade into darkness.
“Every day, the daughter and her new friend would play outside, or in her room, the daughter loved to draw so they would draw adventure stories together. Such as ‘Who Stole Mr. Bunny?’ or my personal favorite, ‘What Happened to Santa Claus on Halloween?’ and many more adventures!” As the man talked, the scenes changed, but they were still that melting style.
Soon, all the lights turned off, but one stayed on it was a dimly-lit blue as the daughter sat under it. “We’ll be friends forever! I promise!” she spoke and held up her pinky from the darkness someone held up their wrapping it around her. “And I’ll be there for you,” they replied.
The dim blue light turned off, and the man walked to the front of the stage as he spoke he held a handkerchief, “a promise to be friends forever, hell even a pinky promise to be friends forever. Were those two promises kept? Did the girls keep being friends? Find out in the next Acts.” The man bowed and sneezed again as the lights turned off, and curtains slowly closed.
The audience applauded, I was hesitant at first but joined in. The girl stood up. “Would you like some popcorn?” she asks.