Worlds collide - A dance until midnight

Reception

In the entrance hall, she was greeted by a butler who wore a tailcoat that reminded her of the roaring twenties. He looked her in the eyes and took a chivalrous bow before taking off her velvet coat. Mesmerised and in awe-stricken silence she looked around the monumental hall, listening to the harmonic strains of violins playing in the distance. A gigantic chandelier hanging from the ceiling was the only source of light. It was dimmed and the atmosphere in the room felt electrifying in a way she'd never felt before.

"Please Miss, down the hall. You've been expected."

Surprised to hear the butler's voice, she turned and the moss green fabric danced around her curves in steady waves. Her coat had disappeared, he didn't hold it anymore. There was no wardrobe in sight and she hadn't heard the echo of his steps. If he'd left the room, it had gone unnoticed. With a timid smile playing around her soft lips she walked down the corridor and into a great hall. 

People wearing suits and classy evening gowns were standing in every corner of the room. Some of them were all by themselves, others in small groups. Sticking out was the variety of different masks. There were hand painted ones like porcelain dolls, men wearing blindfolds like Zorro or women hidden behind lavishing models with feathers and tiny diamonds. Worrying that she was underdressed, she felt for her own mask, a model made of plastic that was painted in the same shade of black like her stilettos. It covered her eyes and apart from a few carved ornaments, it expressed simplicity. No glitter, no feathers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm pleased to announce that our last guest of the night has arrived."

A deep voice echoed through the room and as she tried to find the man it belonged to, she noticed that all eyes were set on her. She turned around to find that the door behind her had been closed. She was the last guest.

Even though the attention of the party shifted back to the man speaking, her cheeks blushed in a deep shade of red. No one noticed but a pair of sapphire blue eyes that had been following her every move from the very moment she'd set foot in the room. She was preoccupied finding the man speaking, unaware of her admirer.

"It pleases me to gather here year upon year and find unknown faces among the familiar ones. I know some of you have been waiting for this night all year so let's waste no time. Go and find the soul that's been waiting for you and dance until the break of dawn. Let the worlds collide."

Finally, she saw him, standing on a pedestal at the end of the room, surrounded by a small orchestra. A man in his thirties with dark hair and perfectly trimmed beard. He was wearing a tailcoat like the butler and reminded her of the movie stars from days long gone. A sophisticated aura surrounded him and he moved with such elegance that she'd never seen in a man before. The atmosphere in the hall felt magical when he addressed his guests, within seconds the room fell silent. As if he'd put a spell on all of them. It took her a while to see that he was the only person in the room that wasn't wearing a mask.

Once his words faded, men and women around her rushed through the room straight into the arms of one another. She couldn't distinguish a single face behind the masks but everyone seemed to know exactly who they were looking for. Lost between the couples, still captured in a dream the others had woken up from, she wondered what she was supposed to do. To her, the man on the pedestal had spoken in riddles and she didn't know one person in the room. Maybe the invitation wasn't meant for her after all?