SparklyHorn's Short Stories Shelf

Overture

Written May 2021

And the curtains open. The audience erupts into applause and the young girl is caught up in all the commotion. Despite her mother's warning, she stands to her feet and looks over the heads of the others in the theater

    The little girl giggles with excitement, now able to see the now-famous small-town singer that has taken the theater industry by storm. With the applause settling like dust after a battle, the performer's voice rings like a bell throughout the theater in perfect tune. The opening song begins by introducing events that had happened years before the start of the story. There is an abrupt pause as the scene begins to change and then the singer hops back into the song, rising with emphasis until a dozen or so more actors come fluttering out onto the stage. The singer engulfs herself into the story, starting in a small village that she feels is too simple.

    Pulled back down into her seat, the little girl can't stop smiling as the main actor gets lost in the woods and stumbles upon an enchanted castle. The audience is brought along as the performer meets a terrifying beast but learns to love him. And after the climatic epic battle scene, the performer gets to meet her prince and all of her dreams come true.

    The last notes of her song fall into the hearts of every audience member before the curtains swish closed. The audience stands in applause and the little girl is cheering and jumping around in celebration of the excellent work of the theater cast, backstage crew, and the musicians who helped bring the music of the production to life. Everyone takes a bow before the stage lights shut off and the auditorium lights replace it with their warm presence.

    Still excited, the little girl drags her mother out of the auditorium to go and meet with the cast and crew. She half-heartedly speaks to some of the characters before she makes her way to the star and engulfs her in a hug.

    “Did you enjoy the show?” Asks the actor, trying to be polite to the child and mother.

    “I loved it!” Celebrates the young child. “My sister was the star of the show!”

    “Yes, she was,” the mother agreed and stepped forward to congratulate her elder daughter. “Absolutely amazing.”

    “Thank you both,” responds the performer.
The little girl bounces away, turning back to wave at her older sister once more before she leaves with her mother.

    The performer must speak to many more adoring fans before she is at last able to return backstage and find a place to sit. She loved her little sister, and her fame, but putting the two together always felt quite embarrassing. With every single performance, the little girl would act like it was the first she’d ever seen. Over and over again this had happened to the performer ever since her little sister was old enough to come to a performance without making a giant scene.

    And for the performer? This fact is frustrating and heart-breaking every time. Almost every time she sees her younger sister, she would have to explain again how they are sisters and that she moved away to be a stage performer. Every meeting is like a ticking time bomb to when the young girl's illness would take her life.

    The performer stands and looks at herself in the mirror. She hadn’t treated her sister very nicely at the after-show meeting. She takes a deep breath and promises to herself that from here on out, every time she sees her sister she would be warm and welcoming. She would remind her sister that she, too, can be a princess just like the one she acts out on stage.

    The promise is made only a moment before her phone lights up with a text message that she hoped she would never have to see. “Your sister won’t be making it to your next performance.”
And with a heavy heart, the stage tears turn into real ones and she falls to her knees, crying over the loss of her little sister.