2018 365 Day Writing Challenge

January 3: A Dance

Prompt #3: Who is dancing?

It was a cold winter night, easily the coldest of the year. Snow fell in thick layers over the city, freezing everything it touched.

Joseph pulled the blanket further up under his chin, looking gloomily out the window at the dark sky and falling snowflakes. His sandy cat, Laura, sat on the windowsill, tail carefully curled over her paws.

Joseph was just drifting to sleep when Laura jumped onto his chest with a startled 'meow'.

"What is it girl?" He asked groggily, not without annoyance.

Laura jumped up and down on his chest, pulling the blankets aside. Her friend groaned and rolled into an indignant ball.

"What did you do that for?" He hissed.

The golden cat hissed back, then hastily jumped back onto the windowsill.

With a sigh, Joseph pulled himself out of bed and onto the soft grey carpet. With cold, bare feet, he padded in the night's darkness, reaching up to pull the curtains closed, so that hopefully Laura would leave him alone and he could sleep. He stopped when he looked outside, mouth hanging open in shock. He could barely see it through the shadowy haze and dark cloud, but a light shone through the fog.

Right under the lamp-post, on the rooftops, stood a figure, dressed only in a white nightgown and thin slippers. Her dark hair flowed out behind her like a cape as she moved across the flat apartment roof.

Did she not know of the laws? Joseph thought to himself in horror.

Giving Laura a quick scratch behind her golden ears, Joseph hurriedly pulled on his jacket and wool-lined boots, rushing downstairs to the rooftop door. He dashed outside, but stopped when he saw.

The woman was still dancing, long, flowing motions in her arms and legs, but now her stage was lit by a searchlight, the lamp gone cold.

She turned to him, reaching out as if to invite him to join her, but before he could do so much as move, a crack sounded in the air above them, breaking through the silence of the night.

The woman fell mid-step onto the snowy rooftop, her white dress now stained a deep scarlet red.