A memento on masks

A little short piece I wrote a while back

The Jester watched as people passed in the crowded ballroom, masks lying abandoned on nearby tables. Although it was a masquerade, not many had actually followed through and worn their masks for more than three minutes.  A barrage of faces smothered the tables in frown and jeers, colors and sparkles, feathers and sequins. 

Although all the decorative masks were cast aside, the Jester noticed with slight amusement that each and every person was still wearing a mask. A mask of Bravery, of Happiness, of Pride. Each person in passing wore an invisible mask of emotions that kept them bordering on sane.  One woman the Jester passed had recently divorced her husband, yet was laughing and smiling with her friends. However, the mask of peace painted on her face didn't reach her eyes.

That was the thing about masks. They didn't cover the eyes, the most expressive part of the face. The holes that allowed the wearer to see also allowed people to see them. In the eyes of every laughing person was an underlying truth of boredom, pain, loneliness, sadness, fear.

A person can easily fake a smile, but when that mask is put up, the smile never quite reaches the eyes. A painted mask made of the most beautiful gems in the world seems worthless on the face of someone whose eyes scream to be freed.

Even the Jester’s beloved King wore a mask on most occasions. A mask that makes him “royal” and “proper”.  When duty constrains one to be polite, then a mask is firmly fitted and tied to the face it’s deigned to fix.  The Jester’s job was to loosen this mask, to make light dance in the ruler’s eyes.

And so the Jester ties on her own mask, and acts to her very best capability to keep her eyes honest and happy. Even when she is on the verge of a breakdown, she ties the solid mask to her crumbling face and steps into a curtsy, ever the fool.

Everyone wears a mask. But the eyes give them away.

-Kelsie

Not like you

A companion piece to "Say something", set nearly a week later. Enjoy!

Acorn stared at Shiro, worried.  He looked tired. He was fixing a broken bike-one of the extras- and seemed very intent on his work, although he’d been working on it for hours with very little accomplished.  Shifting the tray of food in her grip slightly, she stepped into the workshop, clearing her throat to get her boss’s attention.

“Yes?” Shiro replied, not looking up. Acorn set the tray beside him on a workbench, picking up the neglected one she had brought him for lunch.

“I fixed you dinner… it’s macaroni. Your favorite.” The teen didn’t reply, tightening a bolt for the fifth time. “Shiro, please eat something. You’re going to starve if you don’t eat and stop thinking about-“

“Don’t.” He interrupted, setting the wrench down carefully. “I’m not hungry.”

“Shiro, you haven’t eaten hardly anything in days!”

“Yeah, well who cares? I’m still doing all of my duties as leader.” He resumed working, oiling a gear.

“You aren’t yourself, and you haven’t been since Lay-“

“I’m just tired.” He replied quickly, cutting her off again. He sighed and massaged his forehead, covering his ears and closing his mouth.  Acorn knelt beside her friend and covered his hands gently with her own. He had his eyes closed, but Acorn stared at them anyway.  He had dark circles under his eyes, and looked gaunt and paler than usual. Although he always appeared asleep when Acorn went in to check on him, she could tell he hadn’t been getting any rest.

Very softly, she snaked her hands under his, feeling his ears and hair. Then, with a force that surprised even her, she dragged Shiro’s hands to his sides and pinned them there.

“Listen to me Shiro.” The boy nodded but didn’t look up. “Listen. Layla is gone. She won’t be back for a long time.” Shiro made a soft sad noise, and for a moment she considered letting him go, but she’d gone too far to stop now. “You have been acting so tough and uncaring since I found you on that bench, but I’m your best friend Shiro. You don’t think I would have noticed that although you haven’t frowned, you haven’t smiled either? I’m not stupid. Why don’t you just cry like you want to?” Shiro’s eyes shot open and met hers. “I can read you better than you think I can, idiot. Besides, I miss her too…”

She felt her eyes fill with tears as he reached out for her like a child. She hugged him tightly. Although he hugged her back like she was an anchor, and his hands were shaking, he kept up his composure and pride stubbornly.

“You don’t have to be so strong now Shiro. Let me be that person for a while. Go ahead. I don’t mind.”

Shiro stiffened a moment and began shaking harder; crying silently but trying to be quiet although nobody would be able to hear him from the workshop anyway.

After a few minutes of that, Shiro returned to his normal self, and Acorn was able to persuade him to eat and sleep. He slept a good twenty-nine hours, nearly reaching thirty before waking up feeling better. When he woke, it was night again, and it seemed everyone was asleep. He slipped out of bed and into the hallway, not turning on any lights and following his memory to the room of the friend he had a hunch would still be awake.

Acorn was sewing when Shiro knocked softly on her door. She called out an invitation, and he came in a few moments later, looking sheepish. She didn’t comment as he approached her where she sat in her armchair, mending what looked like one of Cardinal’s old shirts.

“Acorn?” Shiro spoke finally.

“Yes, Shiro?”

“How long have I been asleep?”

“A day or two.”

“Ah.” Shiro sat down on the bed across from her and looked at his feet. They sat like this for a while, just enjoying each other’s presence and thinking. Then, Acorn finished sewing a final stitch, and set the shirt aside, looking over at her friend. He bit his lip, finally looking up.

“Thank you.” Acorn didn’t seem surprised. She just smiled and stood up, mussing his hair.

“I’m just glad you’re better silly. Now go on, go back to bed. I’ll wake you up in the morning and we can get back to work.” She held out a hand to Shiro and helped him up. She walked him to the door and they stood a moment before he hugged her tightly, muttering another thank you into her hair. She chuckled.

“Goodnight Shiro.”

“Goodnight Acorn.” And so he left.

-Kelsie

A short story- Say something

             First off, I' apologize for never posting. I have no excuse. Next, this is kinda sappy, so, if you don't like romance, don't read it. This is based off of one of my unfinished stories, about an orphan and a girl who'd lived with him and his gang for a while. This is also loosely based off of the song: "Say something" 

“I love you” She whispered, clutching at his shirt, hiding her face in his chest. All Layla could hear was his heart beating and the sharp intake of breath at her words. Her heart plummeted when a silence grew between them, and she swallowed.

“Say something.” She choked out, feeling her shoulders shake. “I love you Shiro. Let me stay! I want to be with you and the gang forever! Don’t make me go!” She felt her face grow hot and tears escaped her eyes, clenched tightly shut. “Say something! Please.” She wrapped her arms around his chest and buried her face in his shirt.

Hands reached lowly back and unhooked hers, pulling her away from him so they were a foot apart. Shiro leaned down to his friend’s eye level, cool red eyes looking horribly sad. Layla wiped her eyes and waited for him to speak.

“You have to go home Layla.” Every word he spoke pierced her heart. “Your parents need you, and you have to finish school. You have a home Layla, a family. We don’t have that. You need to take good care of yours.” She shook her head.

“My home is with you, Shiro!”

“Layla…”

“I love you! Does that mean nothing to you?” Layla rubbed the balls of her hands into her eyes, sobbing out her words. Shiro leaned in then and kissed her sweetly and chastely on the lips. Every ounce of love went into the kiss, leaving them both stunned. Layla hiccuped and looked up at him with sad brown eyes. 

“I love you too… But you need to go home. You just, finish college and… come back to me, okay?”  Shiro kissed her forehead once and drew her into a tight hug, and the girl felt warm and safe for a single moment. Then the taxi honked and they both flinched, drawing apart. Words were no longer necessary, so Layla put her bags in the trunk, sliding into the passenger seat and shutting the door behind her. Shiro couldn't watch, so he turned back towards home as the engine revved.

“Shiro!” Her voice cut back to him and the boy whipped around, hardly catching the necklace that had been thrown to him. “I’ll come back to you. Wait for me!” With that the impatient taxi flew around the corner and vanished from sight, leaving Shiro standing on the sidewalk clutching the heart shaped pendant.

Shiro walked a few steps in silence before falling onto the park bench nearby. He held the necklace tight in his hands and promptly burst into tears, sobbing and trying to stop, but the emotions had finally caught up. He was later found by Acorn, cried to sleep on the park bench, Layla’s heart in his hands.

There. sappy right? --Kelsie

Oops!

I've been slacking off lately with posting! Sorry!!! I will get back to work!

Slippery Scalding Soup Save

 

“Hey, Mari, will you pass me the soup?” Stephen asked, his hand stretched towards his best friend. He and Mari were out at a restaurant, talking over plans before they went on a long vacation.  Since they couldn’t decide on a certain type of food, they’d gone to a buffet and were getting their meals.

His mute friend nodded; ladling a large helping of potato soup into the bowl Stephen had waiting. The hot broth sent tiny tendrils of steam spiraling into the air. Mari got some macaroni and cheese, and a slice of ham, and they went back to their seats. They had almost made it to their booths, when a toddler came out of nowhere, running directly into Stephen and upsetting the bowl in his hands.

“AHHHH!!!!” The toddler screamed.

The little boy’s parents came running over, flustered and angry.  They tore their child from the safety of Mari’s arms, and marched on, muttering about kidnappings and shooting glares at the manager.

Mari stood frozen, bent low to the ground with tears in her eyes; her hands were shaking and still held out as if she was still protecting the child. Stephen was staring in horror at the girl’s back, covered in the burning hot soup. A waitress ran over, several towels in hand. Stephen snapped out of his daze and took them from her.

“Mari? Are you alright?” He asked, gently patting her back with the cloth. The girl shook her head no. “Alright. Let’s go home and clean up, okay?” the girl shook her head again and made an eating motion, pointing at her companion. “That’s okay, we can order a pizza. Don’t worry about that; let’s just get you cleaned up.”

Stephen helped his friend up, and reached for his wallet to pay for their untouched food, but the waitress said that she’d take care of it.  Stephen thanked her profusely, and hurried out the door.

A few minutes later, (you do not want to know how fast Stephen drove home) they arrived at the house where they were staying, Mari hurrying into the shower. Stephen paced as he waited for his friend, nearly forgetting about calling the pizza delivery service that they usually used. By the time he’d finished making the call, the water in the bathroom had turned off, and it wasn’t long before the bathroom door opened. Mari, wearing a tank top instead of her normal sweater, walked over to the table and grabbed her notebook and pencil.

Do you have any Aloe? She wrote, pointing to her back. Stephen yelped out a ‘yes’ and ran to a nearby junk drawer, pulling out a small bottle of the green gel. He took it over to his friend, who gave him a questioning look.

“Do you want me to put it on?” He asked. The girl nodded, bangs falling over her eyes. Slightly pink in the face, Stephen moved Mari’s hair away from her back, gasping audibly when he saw it. She had minor burns on her upper back and shoulders, stopping just before the back of her top. Stephen sighed, shaking his head. He squeezed some of the aloe into his hand, and rubbed it gently on the burn.

Mari flinched when the hand touched her red skin, but relaxed as the aloe cooled down the burning pain. Mari smiled softly at Stephen when he finished, but found herself unable to tear her gaze away.

The two stared at each other, blue eyes to brown, for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Stephen opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when the doorbell rang.

“Ack! Uh, the pizza’s here!” he laughed, face red again.  He started walking to the door, but turned around and walked back over to Mari. He placed a hand lightly on her head.

“You did well today Mari, that was really brave of you.” With that, Stephen went to get the pizza, leaving Mari smiling after him.

Indeed

We really should post more often. hmm.  ~Kels

The story

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away from here, two children lived. They were cousins, little Annabelle, six years old, and Katherine, almost eight. They were the best of friends, always getting into mischief and laughing. They were known as Katie and Annie to their families, and they lived very near each other in their tiny village.

One night, while Annie was over at Katie’s house, Katie’s mother baked a whole bunch of cupcakes for their grandparents, who lived in the house next door with the family’s dog, Parsley.  Even though it was dark out, Katie’s mom knew it was a very short walk over there, and that they’d be fine. Annie was scared, but she felt safe when she was with Katie, so they agreed to go.

So they set out, Annie carrying the basket and Katie leading the way. Chattering back and forth, they walked carefully around the willow pond. The branches, long and green, flowed in the wind around them. They could hear the crickets and frogs chirping and croaking around them, and even though it was dark, the world felt safe. Past the stone bench and the tree that dropped green apples in the fall, they came to the base of the hill on which their grandparents lived.

Suddenly a low growling caught Annie’s attention. She grabbed at her cousin’s sleeve, Whispering out: “Listen!”

“What is it?” Katie asked, unaware of the coming threat.  Annie opened her mouth to reply, but another growl, closer this time froze both girls where they were.  Slowly they turned around to face it. A Huge brown dog was facing them, hackles raised and snarling.  Katie moved in front of her best friend, both girls visibly shaking.

“G-get away!” She shouted at the beast, but it simply barked angrily back in reply. Annie was almost too frightened to move. She wanted someone to rescue her. Grandfather had told her to scream if she ever needed help, but she knew the dog would lunge and get them if she did. Then she remembered. Parsley, the family dog! She tried to whistle like Grandmother had taught her, but she couldn’t remember how. She tugged on Katie’s sleeve.

“K-Katie, whistle for P-parsley!” The older girl nodded and whistled, loudly. But nothing happened. The dog growled louder and took a step forward. Suddenly a blur of black launched into the dog, knocking it away while the girls shrieked. Katie grabbed Annie’s hand and pulled her toward the house

“Come on! We have to tell Grandfather!” The girls ran all the way up the hill and burst into the house, where Annie’s parents sat talking to their grandparents. The girls explained what had happened, near in tears and shivering. Grandfather went outside to investigate while they others tried to calm them down.

A few minutes of worrying later, The door reopened and Grandfather stepped inside. He shook his head and said there was no sign of anything. No dogs, no blood, no noises, nothing. Annie’s parents scolded the children for making up stories, and said they probably just scared themselves. The girls protested, but only received sharp looks that clearly said “stop.”

And so the adventure was forgotten by the others, as they sat and enjoyed the cupcakes Annie had managed not to spill as they’d run.  But the girls remembered, and they always will.