Rediscovering Reality

Let the Fun Begin.

When the day of the ball had finally arrived Mariella found herself a nervous wreck. And not the pretty kind where one stands in front of a long mirror and adjusts their clothing and says to themselves "its just one night you will be okay". 

No. 

Mariella was the kind of nervous wreck that could be found sitting sadly on the corner of her bed wondering why in Merlin's sake she couldn't get her hair to do what she wanted while she stared deep into the floor in her sweatpants. 

So when her mother knocked on her door at a quarter to six, she was quite surprised to see that her daughter had her knees tucked to her chest and that not only had she not moved, that her hair looked more of a mess than it had two hours ago when she came to tell her to get ready. 

Mariella

As the swung open with a soft creak I deeply wished my blankets would consume me and welcome me as one of their own. 

I glanced at the clock and quickly decided that I wished the bed would consume me and I would deal with my situation whether the blankets accepted me or not. 

Two hours. 

It had been two hours since her mother had told her to start getting ready and call if she needed anything. 

She in fact had tried to get ready, and failed miserably. She had started with her, something she thought she would be able to tackle reasonably well, and had found herself sorely mistaken. 

"Dear? oh whats happened? Is something the matter?" the question from her mother was, of course, rehtorical. Something was very clearly the matter. 

"I couldn't.....I couldn't get my hair to go like I wanted it. I um....I couldnt get the spell to work. But then I though I could just do it the muggle way and it just wont......go the way I want it." saying the works out loud I felt so childish. Like a toddler who cant get the cap back on their marker. 

I mentally prepared myself for a disipointed sigh... I was a grown woman for merlin's sake. I shouldnt be so fussy. I should get over myself. I should-

"Oh dear that okay. Lets see what we can do, how did you want it done?" 

The words came out soft and kind. Not rushed. In fact if I was not aware that people were going to be here in twenty minutes or so i would think that we had all of the time in the world. 

"I was going to braid the sides, and pull it into a bun?" i said testing the waters. 

"That sounds beautiful." She quickly swished her wand and my hair began to float into place, then after that she summoned a few pins from some the bathroom and then used them to pin my hair into a bun. 

"There." she said softly patting my shoulder. 

I felt my pulse calming down. 

"Do you need my help with the dress?" she said kindly.

"No. I think Ill be fine." 

She smiled with a nod, "I put your shoes on your bathroom counter earlier, guests will be here soon. But take your time.  People can wait if they need to." She gently touched the top of my head and then she left the room quietly. 

And though I was alone that small interaction had convinced me that I was going to be okay.

I pulled on my dress. The dark fabric gently slipped onto my skin and i used my wand to zip up the back of it. The skirt flowed and i swear it could have been made of the night sky, the way there was small embedded sparkles in the fabric. That reflected the lights as i moved, as if they were real stars.