It is Friday and I have just returned from work. Today is one of the days I'm glad that we get to close from work early enough on Fridays. As soon as it was four o'clock, I grabbed my bag and left work immediately despite several pleas from Simona to come along with her to her house so we could both dress up for the masked party which I remember telling her three days ago that I wasn't interested in attending. I spend the next one hour finding my way home and as soon as I get home, I kick off my shoes and all.
I plop into my bed and cover up myself with the sheets. It has been a long day at work – not too long compared to days when I leave work at six o'clock. Sometimes, I even spent longer hours at work if I failed to complete my tasks for the day because I was not a fan of carrying over a task to the next day. It is just that today was one of the days when I struggled to focus at work. My mind kept drifting to my parents.
If we had to be honest, I miss my parents so much. I'd like to say that the universe was one of the funniest elements I knew in my entire life. My parents were gruesomely murdered when I was just nine years old. It's been nineteen years since their death but I cannot deny the fact that I miss them so much.
I sigh sadly and hold the locket necklace that is around my neck. I open the locket and the picture of my mother stares right at me. Again, I miss my parents so much – especially my mother. The memories of my parents are one of the fondest memories I have. I wrap my hand over the locket, squeeze it tightly as I hold it close to my chest, and shut my eyes tightly, trying hard to fight back the tears that are threatening to fall.
On remembering something, I open my eyes and slowly let go of the locket. I climb down from my bed and march to my closet. I spend the next few minutes deciding whether or not to open the closet. Shrugging, I eventually make up my mind to open the closet. I extract an envelope from the closet and in turn, gently extract a map from the envelope. I walk slowly to my bed and spread the map before me while I kneel before it.
The edges of the map are worn, bearing witness to the countless times my fingers have traced through the lines of the map, refusing to study it. I still vividly remember the day my mother handed the map to me. I was nine and she had told me to hold on to the map. In her words, whether or not she and my father lived, depended on one person living somewhere that she had marked on the map. She would take me to my aunt's place and tell me she'd come back for me whenever she and my father got back from wherever it was that they traveled to. But she and my father never returned.
The map that was given to me by my mother inspired me to become a cartographer just so that one day when I had enough courage, I was going to be able to go through the map and perhaps, visit where my mother had marked. But that courage never came.
Sometimes, I wish I was not as cowardly as I am so that I would be able to at least know the full story about the murder of my parents and get the closure I need. But no . . .
I fold the map neatly and slip it back into the envelope where I took it from. I walk back to my closet and return the map to the closet.
"Today's not the day," I murmur to myself as I jam my closet shut. I don't think I have the emotional stability to go over the past yet. I mean, yes, it's been nineteen long years but I still don't think I want to cater to that aspect of my life yet.
I glance up at the clock and by my calculations, it is only two hours till the masked party begins. Even though I had snapped at Simon and told Simona I wasn't going to be attending the party, I suddenly felt like attending. And it's not because I'm interested in whatever the party has to offer but because I don't want to spend the rest of the day in the house, thinking about my parents and the things that would have been. And if we have to be honest, I was already thinking about my parents.
I sigh and plop into my bed again. I should attend the masked party. At least, there was going to be a reasonable excuse for me to knock myself out with a bottle of alcohol. I pick up my phone and proceed to call Simona. She picks up on the second ring.
"Hey, Jade," she says.
"Looks like I might be attending the masked party," I try not to sound excited about anything but it doesn't work for Simona as she screams in excitement over the phone.
"Calm down," I laugh. "I may end up not coming. I don't even know what to wear."
"Girl," Simona drawls. "You'd figure that out. Just freshen up and join us early enough."
"Yes, ma'am," I roll my eyes and end the call to use the bathroom.
I am out of the bathroom in fifteen minutes. And the next thing I start worrying about is my choice of outfit. Maybe I shouldn't even have made up my mind to attend the party. Maybe I should just have slept. But from the look of things, I do not think that even sleep would be able to help me lock away the past. The masked party was the perfect way to get the past out of my head.
I turn towards my wardrobe and throw its doors open. My eyes do a quick sweep and I do not waste much time before I go for the sleek, sleeveless midnight-blue sequin gown that seems to catch my fancy for odd reasons tonight. Now that I think of it, I do not think I have ever worn this gown since its purchase and this is because I detest attending parties. I only buy dresses because they catch my fancy.
I quickly slip it on and gently sit in my dressing chair as I go ahead and apply very light makeup. On a very good day, I am not even a fan of makeup and also, since it is a masked party, I do not see the need for heavy makeup that would be covered by a mask.
I tie my blonde hair up in a messy bun and wear my shiny ear cuffs. I take one look at my dressing mirror and I start to think I should consider attending more parties. I stare at my mirror for a longer while, wondering whether or not the curves I am staring at belong to me or someone else. I had forgotten what it felt like to look like in bodycon dresses because I was always wearing pants and round necks or shirts.
Well, you wouldn't blame me much; it comes with working with a gaming company. I take one final look at myself and I see my mother's eyes staring back at me. And yes, that's it. . . that's my cue to leave home already.
I slip my feet into my heels and grab my bag and house keys. Time to face the night.
*
As I approach the hall where the masked party is holding, I can hear the faint sounds of music and laughter drifting through the air. I look around and for a second, I am confused as to what to do. Just as I start to look into my bag to bring out my phone so I can put a call through to Simona, I hear a familiar voice yell my name. I look up and thankfully, it is Simona.
"Hey, girl!" Simona claps excitedly as she races towards me. "My God, for a second, I thought it was someone else."
"I was just about calling you," I sigh.
"I just said to come out to check if you had arrived already," Simona says. "Girl, you look different and too beautiful. I mean, on a very good day, you own one of the prettiest faces anyone could look at but today, it's just amazingly extra."
"Ah, thank you, Simona," I laugh. "You'd flatter me to death if you don't stop this."
"No, this isn't even flattering now," Simona shakes her head. "I'm being real here."
"Thank you," I flash her one of my finest smiles. Simona is one of those people I am immensely glad to have in my corner because she sure did know how to hype the best out of a human. "You look very beautiful as well."
"Glad you came," she says, about to grab my hands when someone calls my name from afar. Simona and I turn in the direction of the voice immediately. It is Simon.
"I'm glad you eventually decided to come," he says, taking my presence in. "And quite frankly, you look more stunning than 70% of the women here."
"This flattery wouldn't get me to like you, I promise you," I laugh.
"That's if I even had the time to waste flatteries on people who don't deserve the flatteries," Simon says gingerly.
Simona and I exchange knowing looks. Well, that was quite the comeback.
"Here," Simon stretches a silver mask at me. "Silver should be a good fit for your dress." It is only then that I notice that he is holding masks.
"Oh," I chuckle as I slowly collect the silver mask from him. "You're the one who is assigned to share masks with arriving guests? What happened to assigning it to other people? It's not befitting for someone like you."
"Now that I think of it, I think both of us should mind the business that pays us," Simon rolls his eyes and walks away.
"Now that I think of it," Simona says. "I wonder how I manage to be friends with two of you when you two can barely stand the sight of each other?"
"This isn't about trying to stand the sight of him, Simona," I say, as she helps me wear my mask. "He just happens to be one of the most annoying people here in Ethereal Games who happens to not know when and when not to stick his nose into other people's businesses."
Simona says nothing; instead, she laughs and clasps her hands.
"Your mask fits perfectly," she nods in satisfaction. "Now, shall we? There are so many hot guys I want you to see. . ."
"Simona, please," I roll my eyes as we walk to the entrance of the hall. "I thought we both agreed you were going to give me a break from men?"
"These guys are hot!" Simona argues feebly.
"Simona!" I roll my eyes, flashing her a look to kill from beneath my mask.
"Okay, okay," she raises her hands in mock surrender. "I'm off. Do as you would."
Just before I can open my mouth to protest or something, Simona is off already. I roll my eyes and step into the hall. The nerve of her to leave me to myself knowing how much I hate parties and everything that comes with it. And I know it was an intentional act. Perhaps, she wanted me to meet a guy who would help me around but that wasn't going to happen because I was going to figure it out by myself.
I muster all the courage in the world and step into the hall. The hall is pulsed with life, laughter, and music echoing through the air. I take a momentary pause before I allow myself to surrender to the allure of the party. Everyone has their faces hidden behind masks and for a second, I agree that masked parties make sense.
I walk in, looking for where to get a drink. After all, that is the main reason I am here – to be able to drink to my fill without having my conscience judge me about getting drunk when there are better things to do with my life.
My favorite song suddenly blasts from the speakers and I find myself screaming excitedly and singing along with everyone in the hall. Well, maybe this party thing isn't bad after all. Or maybe the bad part of parties awaits me towards the end of the party – who knows?