Icarus

Fly

Fly

She put her mask on and went into the Performing Arts Center, cracked her fingers and took a deep breath before the curtains opened. When they did, all her anxiety vanished. As soon as the piano started playing she knew exactly what to do. Cassie extended her arms and moved her feet around the black lake that was her stage. Her white dress glittered every time the lights reflected on the diamond-shaped sequins painstakingly sewn into it. Her delicate movements flowed together like small streams into a raging river while adrenaline surged through her body, making her feel something that no one else could ever possibly understand.

The gentle melody turned darker just as her movements became rough and fragmented, deep notes were accompanied by a scalding violin. The blinding lights were now red and yellow making her look like she was on fire. As the music was ending, Cassie fell to the floor, ripped some feathers off her dress and threw them to the crowd. They all extended their hands aggressively trying to get a souvenir of such a moving performance, like hungry animals looking for flesh to rip into. She dove into her character and cried, removing the mask that was hiding her face.

Her dance ended, Cassie stood up and a polite smile blossomed on her lips when she heard the people applauding. Then, she disappeared to go backstage.

"Good luck, guys," she said to the girls who were waiting for their own fifteen minutes of fame. One of them stopped her.

"Are there a lot of people out there?" she asked nervously

"With all of the lights you won't notice the people."

She looked at Monique's exhausted eyes and added, "You'll be alright, trust me? Now go there and show them how good you are."

She smiled, comforting her, what normal people would say, as a friend, but for Cassie, Monique was just another human being inhabiting the earth.

"I wish I could dance like you."

Monique's words were wistful and dreamy. What she had no way of knowing was that Cassie had abilities beyond those of mortal humans, and that she was actually holding back on stage so as not to be found out for what she was. But audiences were mesmerized by the otherworldly moves she did show them—dancing they'd never seen from any ballerina at any level anywhere in the world.

Cassie smiled without saying a word, when she turned around, she rolled her eyes. There were two kinds of people in her ballet class, the arrogant and proud, and the weak and modest. Luckily Cassie didn't emulate either type. She was trained to see the world in black or white. There was no gray, no one who could be a combination of strong and weak. Cassie hoped she could become the gray the world was missing.

She changed her clothes and left the theatre through the back door.

The piano was still playing in her head. As a reflex she began repeating her performance. The light of the enormous sign at the front of the auditorium shined brightly like the sun in the dark abyss that was space; the few house lights still glowing took on the role of stars.

"And I," she thought, "I'm a comet ready to crash into my world and destroy it."

She did a pirouette, hoping it might provoke something in someone looking into her window. But she was just a shadow drifting in the night. And that's when it hit her. Her life was unbearably boring. Cassie sighed and chastized herself out loud.

"Somebody please, take me out of the hell I'm living!"

She moved her hand to her forehead in a dramatic way and walked to the road. Standing in the center, she looked both ways to see if there was a car coming. Nothing.

"Guardians of the sky," she paused to extend her hands in the air, "take me with you; I can't stand this human life any mmmmooo..."

Suddenly something covered her mouth before she could get the last word out and turned her around. Her heart began pounding as she saw the golden eyes and the black hands which held her.

"Shut up, please."

A man in the black cape let her go, and Cassie smirked with a glint of satisfaction when she recognized the wrinkly face she was about to talk to. "That was a poor acting."

"Well, part of what I was saying is true, and you know that," she replied. "Why are you here?"

"The time has come," he replied in a low, deep voice.

"You mean, my time to die," Cassie clarified. When he didn't reply, Cassie added, "Do...do you think I'm ready, Piero?"

He moved a lock of blonde hair off her face and nodded his head, "You'll feel like you are about to sleep, as if your soul is leaving your body...and then you'll die."

"I'm ready," she said, summoning all of her confidence, but once Piero raised his hands and she saw the black marks on his fingers, she felt terrified. Then again, it's what she was fated to be. It was her job, she was born to be like Piero, and she was born to fulfill her destiny.

Piero's arms held her shoulders tight. His touch felt like a wildfire racing through a dry forest, her arms burned, and when she looked at his smoldering eyes, so did her face. Darkness enveloped her. Cassie felt her energy fading, her soul drifting away. She felt like a feather, falling soft and slow from a cliff. Her feelings were vanishing too; nothing remained except a bleak void.

Then, she died.

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Please don't be shy and comment what do you think. It's my second shot at writing a novel so every little comment and critique means a lot and helps me improve. And vote, don't forget to vote if you liked it!

xxx Mad