VANISHING ACT || twisted wonderland

Prologue |-| when all but feathers is what remains

You were sitting on this lone stool, you yourself also sat alone on the stage, the ghost of a smile swimming with mischief tugging at the corners of your mouth.

The glowing lanterns hanging from the walls reflected golden flakes dancing in your [eye colour] irises,  your watchful gaze glowered at the seated crowd of happy, laughing faces, and you couldn't suppress the bubble of mirthful chuckles that almost broke the thin line of your smile.

 Instead, what came out was the faint whisper almost inaudible over the curious chatter, "vanishing act; disappear to thin air."

In a flash of blue and white, feathers appeared where you once sat, and you were no where to be seen. They flapped and fluttered through the crowd, landing in people's hair and tickling the children's noses as they past, sending laughter through the now hollow and empty stage.

Only a singular dark blue feather the colour of the midnight sky remained on the stool, standing out as all the other prim white plumage fluttered through the audience.

Silence took over once more and then erupted into the melodious sound of applause, the drumming beat of people's appreciation sending a giant smile to appear across your face as you  peeked through the velvet curtains backstage, shaking off extra midnight coloured feathers from your clothes.

As you passed by the different sets and costumes, you stopped at a basic beige door imprinted with the words "dress up room" and pushed the door open.

You were greeted by the smells of perfume and soap, the new performers getting ready for their act and the other ones washing the makeup off their face. You easily slipped by, walking along as people carried on with their duties. 

"They didn't even look at me."

Stopping by the sink, you wiped off the concealer from your face with a damp towel and unraveled the frilled lace collar clasped to your neck. Unbuttoning the vest and taking out the ribbons tied to your waist, you stepped through the curtains to change.

When you stepped outside once more, the only thing that remained the same was the singular midnight coloured feather tucked behind your ear. Otherwise, you would have never guessed that was the same person.

Massaging the creases on your forehead, you tried to relax your skin and ease the tension building up inside your muscles. Although, it did little to help the natural furrow of your brows and the downward tug of your lips, imitating emotions of anger and disgust.

No matter how hard you tried to lift the corners of your lips or massaged the furrow of your brows, or smiled so hard that you started to cry, your face would still go back to this ugly expression of distaste and bitter hatred.

The blank slate of your face stared back at you through the mirror mounted on the wall, reflecting the empty feeling in your chest as you looked around to see all the happy people chatting away the night as their laughter made up for your silence and lack of speech.

You seemed to just, disappear into the crowd.

Go unnoticed.

Become invisible.

Vanish into thin air.

You tried to ignore the whispers of silent shock and stares as you passed by your peers, the blue feather tangled in your hair dancing to a silent song as you sped through the halls, the lasting effects of invisibility from your "magic trick" that lingered after a while. 

Shutting the door, you gathered your stuff that was pushed half hazardously to the corner of the stage and slung the bag over your shoulder, pushing through the red velvet curtains and stepping on the hollow wooden stage.