Lavender Mist

The Garden

A walk to the theatre never felt so long, as Maggie was hesitating, questioning and looking back after every few steps. Her thoughts jumped from one side to another and she wasn't sure anymore if she desired a visit to Pablo that day. However, every time her toes would face the opposite direction and every time she would think of returning home, her persistent loyalty would remind her of all the promises and assurances that she gifted to her friend, while she was telling him that he wouldn't be lonely in the abandoned building forever. She recalled every time someone, that she didn't know enough, like Pablo, would disappoint her and show her that she couldn't trust anyone, but her best friend was always on her side, not letting her feel like the last person in the world.

Like a snake, the cramped, dusty corridor, that was connecting the back door with the stage, stretched in front of her, ending with a subtle, yellowish glow. Maggie felt light relief, since the passage looked the same as she first saw it. She hoped that there wouldn't be any more signs that a stranger's foot walked into the theatre and noticed that the girl was inside. However, though she thought that she was able to simply continue visiting Pablo, as if nothing had happened, the stained walls felt like they were closing together, blocking her from going any further.

Ignoring this odd feeling, Maggie made a few steps towards the stage and noticed muffled music, that was coming her way. Slightly blurry pitches flowed from one to another, coming from an instrument, that the puzzled girl couldn't recognize. From time to time, the music was disrupted by a sudden hole or distortion. It sounded like it was coming from the past.

Maggie timidly peeked at the stage. The entire spacious hall was filled with tones, that were melting together, and quiet cracking of the wooden floor under Pablo's feet. His now oddly long figure was graciously dancing on the platform. Maggie felt hypnotised, as she watched him shift from one end to another in light steps on his toes. His slim arms moved slowly and with control, like through water. Thinking that he hadn't noticed her, the girl kept looking at him, not preventing a soft smile that was gradually forming on her face.

However, right when she started to forget that she even existed, feeling like an observer, that nobody could see, the music and Pablo suddenly stopped at the same time. In that moment, Maggie remembered her presence and her smile just as harshly dropped from her face. The room was overtaken by cold silence and the girl had enough time to wish for everything to come back, for the music to start playing again and for Pablo to continue dancing.

Her friend slowly turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. He was still left in the same position, in which he had frozen, and the only muscles that were moving in his body were the ones on his face, as he gently and mysteriously smiled. Maggie slightly flinched when he suddenly moved from the pose, that his dance brought him into, his arms relaxed and fell to his sides and he fully turned towards her.

"Maggie!," he said, as a broad grin was glossing on his face. His voice, however, sounded deeper than how the girl remembered it. "I'm so glad to see you! I knew you would come today."

As he approached her, Maggie didn't notice that she made a few steps backwards, while she was sliding her gaze all over the room, as if she was getting to know it for the first time. Indeed, there were some changes, which her eyes had never spotted before. The space for the audience, which used to be so empty, that the place didn't look like a theatre anymore, but rather like an abandoned pool of dust and spiderweb, now had a few rows of chairs. Maggie could only see unclear silhouettes of the lodges, since they were in the shadow, but it seemed like she could barely discern dark blue, soft fabric, that covered the seats. She couldn't remember if there were even any seats up there the last time she threw a glance into that unexplored direction, but she was confident that the material wouldn't be so preserved for such a long time after the theatre stopped working.