The Masquerade

Kinda fit into two categories but the other one wasn't here so meh

A young girl stands still
Trembling and shaking behind the curtain
Face is pale and palms are sweaty
'Can I go through with this?'
she asks herself over and over inside of her pounding head
She questions her talents
She over thinks the situation
The crowd starts cheering
As her knees start to tremble and go weak
They give out and she falls upon her face
A crimson tear lightly streams down her porcelain cheeks
A cloudy vision envelopes around her still body
A vision of the person that she used to be
The pain that she caused other people, and that other people have caused her
The pain searing into her flesh as if she is a voodoo doll
A vision of all the mistakes that she had made in the past
Catching up to her and pushing her around
Poking jokes at her, laughing and teasing
The pain is unbearable, she wants so bad to put an end to it
The regrets build up inside of her lifeless body
A maniacal laugh gnawing at her bleeding mind
The failures coming after her
Letting her know where she went wrong.
STOP IT!!!'
She shrieks.
No one seems to hear her
She tries to crawl into a corner
Her legs have given out, they will not cooperate
She reaches her arms out
Grips the ground as hard as she can
Pulls her motionless body behind her
Tears running down her cold face
She comes upon a corner behind the hidden stage
She sits in the corner
Wondering why god is doing what he is
She cannot handle it, she is about to give up
She feels a burning deep in the pit of her stomach
Her heart is pounding hard against her chest
The fear cases around her, holds her in
She closes her eyes
Memories playing through and through
Memories of the friends of her past
Those no longer a part of her
She raises her arms in the air
Begs for god to take her now
Until she hears a voice
A voice of someone she once knew
Screaming for her in the crowd
It calls out to her
Letting her know that she can do it
The pain starts to decrease as she stands up and walks towards the curtains
Her heart still pounding
As nervous as she was
She stand up, raises her head high
Confidence coming down upon her
She will shake off her mistakes and regrets
Her failures and her pains
She will live today for today and tomorrow,
Not for yesterday
The Curtains slide open
She takes off her mask
She slightly smiles and steps into the spotlight that is beaming upon her
Lighting her in even her darkest hours
She takes a deep breath, and slowly,
The masquerade is no longer concealed.
She looks to the crowd, all of the smiling faces surrounding her
And she whispers to herself..
' The show must go on'

© Jenna.Elphick
February 16, 2006