~Joy: (the expression of) an emotion or state of great happiness, pleasure, or delight.~
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The screen went black. When the last of the music faded the two young women realised that they were among the last ones in the theatre.
Emma felt as if she was just waking from a deep sleep. Her thoughts were still centered on the story line. She felt dazed, dreamy, and sad. She turned towards Shalimar and saw that her face was white except for two black lines that trailed down her cheeks from her tears. Emma knew she must look the same. She could feel her tears drying on her skin.
For a moment they just stared at each other before bursting into laughter.
"We are so stupid, aren't we?"
Shal nodded between her giggle fits. She tried to wipe her face with her hands, only to smear the mascara even more over her face.
"But this was really sad. Especially when Sam said: I can't carry your burden for you Mister Frodo but I can carry you."
Tears flowed anew and she tried to gain her composure again. Her brown eyes, still shining wetly, fixed on Emma. She reached out her hand.
"Swear that you won't tell Jesse or Brennan about this. They will make fun about us for the rest of our life!"
Emma took the offered hand.
"Deal. This will be our secret, let's take it to the grave."
Shal started laughing hysterically again.
"Or to the fires of Mount Doom."
Emma's giggles joined hers, not knowing that it would be the last time for a long while they would laugh together.
Together they rose, heading for the bathroom to fix their makeup.
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A light breeze danced around the heated faces of the young Mutants as they left the movie theatre. The building in front of it was crowded with people whose laughter and voices filled the night with sound. A group of young men played guitars in a rousing Spanish melody. People danced in the warm summer's air, having fun.
Shalimar took Emma's hand. They could easily be parted in a crowd of this size, especially considering how high spirited they all seemed to be, and she did not want to loose her friend. For a little while they stood and listened to the music. More than once someone would ask them for a dance but they would politely refuse them.
Emma was still a bit confused about the way the movie had affected her. The noise around her felt unreal. The buildings and people looked strange to her eyes. She took a deep breath, looking up at the trees above her. The thick branches spread over them like arms, shielding the sky from view. In her present state of mind she half expected to see the lithe figure of an elf sitting on one of them, looking down on her with shining blue eyes.
A strange tingling sensation ran down her back making her skin crawl. Emma couldn't tell what it was but it didn't feel good. It felt like someone was watching her. It scared her a little.
Quickly, she looked around but didn't see anything but the smiling faces of the people around her.
"What is it?"
Shalimar grabbed Emma's hand harder to get her attention.
"Someone is watching us."
Her eyes kept searching the area around her for the source of her discomfort.
"You sure? Is it Sauron's eye which is still hunting you?"
Her voice was serious with just the slightest hint of teasing.
Emma let go of the breath she was holding without being aware of it. A smile crept over her face and shook her shoulders, both with confusion and the slightest bit of discomfort. Still feeling a little uneasy she joined in Shal's laughter.
"I don't know, maybe you are right. Maybe it's just me and I am slowly going insane."
The Feral playfully patted her hand.
"Blame Peter Jackson for the three and a half hour movie and bad air-conditioning. Your brain is simply suffering from a lack of oxygen, I tell you. Let's go over to that bench under the tree and sit down for a while. You'll see, you'll feel better in a moment."
Emma nodded in agreement. Shalimar was probably right. She would have known if something was wrong. Her feral instincts would have warned her, Emma thought. They always did.
She tried to relax but the fear crept deeper and deeper into her heart. Again, she looked around but like before, she could see nothing but smiling and happy faces. What if Shalimar's sixth sense didn't kick in this time?
Emma bumped into somebody. Startled, she turned her attention towards the direction Shalimar was pulling her in. 'Get a grip' she told herself. 'You are acting like a child.'
But was she really?
If her gaze would have lingered for just a second longer in the other direction, she would have seen the piercing green eyes watching her. The intensity of the man's stare as well as his whole appearance was frightening, although he did nothing more than just stand there and watch.
People who approached him, backed up as fast as they could. They would have told anybody who wanted to know about the imminent fear of death they felt as soon as they came near him.
The moment Emma and Shalimar started walking over to the bench, he started moving towards them.
Slow, determined, graceful steps. They spoke of the power bound by his body. The crowd parted for him without complaint, leaving him an ample amount of space on the path that he walked on. A wave of panic washed through the people, silencing their laughter with a nameless fear.
It was much too late to react when Shalimar's senses finally reacted to the coming danger. The impending threat had her spinning around with catlike speed and still, she was too slow.
She felt Emma's hand slip put of hers before she could get a tighter grip on her. For a second, she saw the nameless fear on her friend's face, in her large eyes. The next thing Shal knew or rather felt, was the powerful kick to her back which sent her flying forward, the pain overwhelming all thought from her mind.
The last thing she saw was a little girl in a white dress standing beside the tree she would hit. She stood, straight and still, with her hands, clasped together in front of the pink bow around her slim waist, her blue eyes staring straight at her. Her eyes burrowed their way into her fading consciousness, filling her with sadness.
'Emma…', she thought as she hit the tree and the world faded around her.
A young, pure voice seemed to answer her before blackness took her.
'She is gone…'
Tbc
~ What can you see on the horizon? Why do the white gulls call? ~