I hope you all had fun and relaxing holidays. Too much was going on the last couple of months for me to get this written until tonight, and, for that, I apologise. I did, however, read the reviews, and I'm flattered that you liked the beginning so much! With things settling down for now, I should be able to focus more on my writing. I hope you enjoy where this goes.
"Whose is that face staring back at me
From there in the looking glass?
You claim it is my reflection
But upon introspection
I realise that cannot possibly be
My own face staring back at me."
~ (c) Mason Wynter (excerpt from an as-yet untitled poem I'm working on)
One book in particular - a heavy tome, really - caught my eye. I tentatively lifted the dusty old cover, green with age, and was astonished by what I saw.
When I returned to my hotel room late in the afternoon, I slowly unpacked my purchases before heading to the kitchenette. I needed some tea to calm my nerves, and I had completely forgotten to stop for lunch. Besides, I had to prepare myself to look at that fascinating old book again.
What had so astonished me earlier was the image on the title page. It was my own face staring up at me! You can imagine, of course, how disconcerting it can be to see yourself in a book that was published several decades before you were even born. Upon seeing it in the shop, I'd become dizzy, disoriented, and terribly confused by it.
How could it be possible?
It wasn't, naturally. Once I'd settled down and was able to think clearly, I looked more closely at it and realised that it had to be some bizarre coincidence. The woman in the portrait didn't really look all that much like me; it was mostly her eyes that resembled mine. Still, I felt a strange desire to possess that book, and so I'd bought it. It cost a bit more than I'd planned to spend that day, but, when I began perusing the pages, I was thoroughly pleased with what I found.
There were several pages of music and lyrics, many perfectly suited to my voice, as well as what could loosely be termed fairy tales scattered throughout. It was all quite fascinating, really, but a phone call interrupted my leisurely reading.
Fortunately, it was for a job. Someone who had seen a production I'd been in the previous year was staging an entirely new musical and he wanted to cast me in it. I'd never been in a musical before - at least not where I had a singing part - so I was flattered that he was considering me to be a part of it.
Truth be told, I was nervous about the audition; he did have to hear my voice, though. 'Deep breath,' I instructed myself. 'Project.'
The audition went far more smoothly than I'd anticipated, and my co-star, Robert, had already been cast. He had a voice that was as rich and smooth as chocolate. He refused to let me see his face as his role required a nearly full face mask; he said it would help us both stay in character if he always wore it.
Something was missing, though. There was a scene where we would attend a masked ball, and Robert was supposed to whisk me away from an unwanted suitor. A song had been composed that didn't quite fit the mood we needed. Changing the melody didn't work, so it was decided that we would not rehearse that scene until it all the pieces were in place.
Short, I know, but it's necessarily so. It shouldn't take me nearly as long to get the next chapter done. Happy new year!