Puddles

Masked Ball

Midnight. 

The street was silent, and dark, every few feet lit up by a street lamp. All the rooms in all the houses were dark, save for one. In this room, sat a girl, preparing herself for what she was about to do. 

The room was small, just big enough to live in. The girl sat in the middle of her bed, closet door propped open. "Hmmm, what would be the perfect outfit to wear?" She thought to herself. 

It was the night of a masked ball, and she was determined to go. Seeing as she had already gotten her parents' consent, she figured she may as well go. That was before she realized she had nothing to wear. 

Letting her eyes roam the closet for what felt like the thousandth time, her eyes landed on a certain item of choice. It was a floor length dress, black and elegant. The top half was made of a faux velvet, and the skirt part of the dress was made of a cotton that she felt she could wear forever. 

She wasn't aware of how the dress had gotten there, but decided it was fate, and she wasn't one to question fate. Turning her head to the other side of her room, she saw a pair of simple black flats. "Ah, perfect. Not too fancy and killing like heels, but not too drab for a masked ball." She thought aloud. 

And finally, seeing as it was a masked ball, she grabbed a white mask with black glitter decorating it. She peered back into her closet, seeing the cape she had gotten for a Halloween costume a couple years back, and couldn't resist adding it to the mix for a mysterious appearance. 

At long last, she began to change into her outfit, wincing as she saw the time. The ball had started at ten at night, and it was now twelve thirty. "I'll just have to make a grand entrance, I suppose." She muttered under her breath, stepping into the unzipped dress and pulling it up. 

Now came the hard part—zipping the dress, every girl's nightmare when wearing a dress.Twisting her arms in awkward positions, she managed to get the zipper all the way up. After that, she slipped on her shoes, and placed the mask on. 

Tying the ribbons in back took up a couple of minutes, but after some time, she got it, and began to head out after putting on the cloak, before remembering she couldn't leave through the door if she didn't want to wake everyone up. She decided the safest option would be to go through the window, and slid the window open with surprising ease, pushing out the screen so she could get through. She set it in her room before slipping out, turning on the flashlight of her phone to see where she was going. 

After she was stably standing on the roof, she set her phone down to slide the window down to close it. After correctly closing the window, she grabbed her phone, inching slowly towards the lowest point of the roof. When she got there, she shone her flashlight down, inspecting the height of the ground from where she was.

"I don't think I'll break any bones this way, that's for sure." She remarked sarcastically to no one in particular. Taking a deep breath, she leapt down from the roof, feeling her body drop as she prayed for the best. 

Sensing that she was nearing the ground, she made her body as limp as possible, thinking that maybe in that way she could prevent any serious damage. As her body collided with the ground, she felt the air leave her lungs, leaving her gasping for air. She lay there for a minute, gasping for air, and when she finally caught enough breath to regain herself, she sat up, before heading to the ball. 

She eventually got there, opening the dark oak grand doors. As she stepped inside, all eyes turned to her, everything turning to silence save for the music. She descended the stairs, a gentle murmuring sweeping through the crowd of people. 

She got to the bottom of the stairs, and looked around, her eyes finding a person glancing at her from across the room. As soon as they made eye contact, he headed towards her.

She decided to let all worries go, and enjoy her night. 

It was magical.