And here comes my story. <3
---
1st Chapter
I will always remember the first time I saw the Girl With a Cats Mask.
It was the first night of the Carnival, the air hot and humid, seemingly dripping with people excitement about the week long fun to come. I was walking down the street, hands pushed deep into my pockets, gaze wandering and sometimes stopping at the mechanical lanterns that moved on the building walls, trying to find the best spot to shine the brightest, but other times at a random person. A group of laughing teenagers passed me by, their magical sparklers sending off sparks of every possible and impossible color every which way.
I didn't share their joy. Instead, my mood was rather morose. I couldn't even explain why. Everything I saw simply left me unimpressed. Maybe because I had seen it many times before and nothing ever changed. Year after year it was the same crowd of masked, laughing people, magical and mechanical attractions, lot of food and noisy music.
I didn't want any more of it.
As if on cue, all the lanterns blinked out, leaving people on the street in darkness. I looked at the sky, already knowing what was to follow and, indeed, few moments later sky exploded in many colors and images - the famous fireworks people came to see from far and near, had started.
Gasps, cheers and claps mixed with booms and music resounded all around me, but I turned my eyes away from the fireworks that flashed with nearly daylight brightness every few seconds. And then I saw her.
She was sitting on a low brick wall that ran around one of the private houses, her face turned up to the sky, so I could clearly see the half mask of a cat that fit her face tightly going up to her hair line. I also managed to notice that her hair fell in heavy, dark waves over her shoulders before it went dark again. When fireworks lit up the street once more, the girl was staring at me with startlingly green eyes, I could distinguish the color even in the unusual illumination, and I suddenly felt uneasy, as if I had deeply disturbed her with my tight gaze.
Then the street went black, for a longer time now, because the fireworks had ended and the lanterns hadn't received command to lit up yet. When they finally did, I looked at the spot where the girl had sat, but she was gone.
I looked around, hoping that she couldn't have gotten far in the darkness trough the crowd, but there was no sign of the strange girl. I couldn't even put my finger on the thing that made her strange, because there were plenty of people that wore masks of animals, but she just gave off that feeling.
For about hour more, I rove trough the city, not really looking for the girl, but kind of hoping I would catch a glimpse of her again. Then I returned to my apartment, my mood still somewhat sullen, but there was a new, unexplainable spark of thrill somewhere inside, something I hadn't felt for a long time.
Next two days I spent more time in the crowd than I had in the last four Festivals taken together. I, like everyone, had the Carnival week free from my job, so I had unlimited time to roam the streets. I couldn't explain why I walked out in the streets nearly as soon as I woke up, I just needed to be out there and keep looking. I wasn't really searching for the Girl with a Cats Mask, it was something more vague... I named it "Fun" because I had suddenly realized I didn't know how to have it anymore.
That evening, I stopped at one of the movable stages on which people who wanted to show off their talents could perform. The Nightingale Mask's singing didn't really interest me - I thought it resembled strangled chicks cheeping more than anything - and nor did did the Phoenix Masks dancing. The round belly rolling over the low cut pants didn't seem appealing to me, but like others I clapped, even if less excitedly. I was about to walk away when The Girl with a Cats Mask climbed on the stage. I stayed, out of curiosity what she would do. She wasn't dressed for dancing - her clothes consisted of very dark green, loose jumpsuit that left her arms bare, black boots with open toe cap and strange, ancient looking bronze belt with what I took to be dagger sheath attached to it - I had seen something like that only in museum. Now I also saw that above the black hair, two cat ears were perked up and a black cat tail swished behind her.
The girl went to the microphone and I expected her to start "mewing", but instead she started to read a poem:
"Thorny grass grows trough me
and will scrape the sky tomorrow already.
At first, offended pride hurts,
because more than anything I wanted to be a tree,
in whose hollow owls lives,
but, look, I am a grass now,
which blossoms so rarely and unpredictably,
that those who think them self to be smart
and rightful to look at everything trough
theater binoculars
announced their sentence of no appeal:
"Dying species,
doesn't give back flowers or fruits."
Meanwhile, the grass that was me yesterday
digs prickles in the skies
and having drunk the last summer clouds,
blossoms wildly in purple
like love which is just
one blooming apart from hate."
I didn't notice in which moment, the crowd stopped murmuring and laughing around the stage, but when she finished, there was unusual silence for few seconds. And then people started clapping. Not all, maybe not even half, but we - because I was one of them - did it as loud as possible. Not to compensate for the quiet ones, but because we wanted to show all of our appreciation.
The girl nodded her head and slipped off the stage, though some called her to read more. I tried to get closer to her, but couldn't get trough the crowd. When I finally got the spot she should be at, it seemed like she had disappeared in thin air, escaping from all the wanted or maybe unwanted attention.
Next time I saw the Girl with a Cats Mask was few days later. I was wandering around the street with cart shops lined on both sides, trying to find something that would catch my interest. Finally, I stopped at a stall that sold all sort of crafts, beginning with smaller paintings and clay figurines to jewelry from beads, different kinds of fruits and seeds. The woman, maybe in her fifties, gave me a kind smile as I inspected these things. It looked like every each of them was crafted with thought and love and I liked them more than things I had seen other places. Still, it was nothing I could buy and put somewhere in my apartment and so I stepped aside, letting other people come closer, as I didn't want to give her false hope that I would buy anything.
I turned around and examined the crowd. Noticed a little boy who was standing at the next stall that sold so called "healing jewelry". I had never really believed in these necklaces, bracelets and earrings that cost comparatively much, just because they were made from seeds and stones that were said to heal. It seemed that the boy thought differently because he was counting some coins, forehead wrinkled in thoughts. Suddenly, some man tripped over his own foot, probably having had one beer too much, and bumped into the boy.
"Watch where you're standing, kid!" he yelled and staggered away, not noticing that the boy was trying to quickly pick up the coins that had fallen out of his hand, before people kicked them away.
I averted my gaze from him only for few seconds, but when I looked back, the Girl with a Cats Mask had appeared out from seemingly no where and was kneeling next to the boy, helping him to gather the money. Urged by sudden curiosity, I moved closer. Hopefully, not enough close to be noticed, but enough to hear what they spoke.
"I can't find a whole ducat!" The boys tone was desperate.
"What are you saving up for?" she asked.
"A necklace from water-nuts. My mommy is very sick and it could help her, but we cant afford that. I am saving up for a long time, but she is getting worse and worse quickly. I don't think I can gather enough in time - I have only half. People don't pay a lot for the jobs I can do and now I lost a whole ducat," the boy sounded truly upset and I felt sorry for him.
The girl kept quiet for a moment, tapping fingers against her knee and then gave the boy a bright smile.
"Tell you what, I will be your bank and lend you the needed sum, alright? You can give it back to me over a longer time and in parts."
Boy looked at her with wide eyes.
"You really would do that, miss?"
She nodded, still smiling and then stood up. "Now, tell me how much you still need."
Some minutes later, he had bought the necklace and ran back to her, beaming.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you so very much, miss!" He hugged the girl tightly and she hugged him back.
"Now go home and gift the necklace to your mom. I am sure she will be very happy and I hope it will help her. Tell her to warm it in her hands as often as possible, thinking about something good, like how wonderful her son is and that she wants to stay with him for a long time," girl said, releasing the boy. He nodded, thanked again and disappeared in the crowd. I wanted to go to her and tell that I am glad she can help others so easily, even if I dint see much point in this case, but the Girl with a Cats Mask disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.
The last day of Carnival, just like the first, was more loud and bright than the rest. Stages with musicians and dancers slowly circled trough the city and many followed them. Everyone had changed their masks, or at least outfits, to something more impressive and noticeable. I didn't see point in that and had kept my simple, black mask I had chosen for this year. There was nothing and no one I wanted to portray, nothing that I thought could fit me. Besides, most tried to attract attention of the opposite gender with bright masks, but I wasn't looking for relationships.
I was looking for someone, though. I didn't really want to admit it, but lately, I always tried to find the Girl with a Cats Mask in the crowd. In some way, she has become a symbol of the "uniqueness" and "fun" I was looking for and had not found otherwise this Festival.
I wondered if I could even recognize her today. Maybe she had changed her mask, too, and now was walking in the streets as, for example, a peacock. I couldn't really imagine her as one, though. Nor I could imagine her walking among regular people as one of them. I had feeling she would stick out regardless of the fact she was wearing a mask or not. What created this feeling I still could not explain, but the three times I had seen each made it stronger in a way.
I had been walking aimlessly for hours, sometimes following the stream of people, sometimes walking inside a park and sitting down and was about to finally return home, tired of all the bustle and nearly glad that tomorrow life will return to normal frames, despite the hangover having colleagues, when I caught glimpse of her. The girl had not changed her mask, only the jumpsuit was replaced by a moss green dress. Even the belt had stayed the same. In sudden determination to speak with her, I started to break trough the crowd.
It was hard to keep up with her. Few times the Girl with a Cats Mask seemed to disappear out of sudden, because she her direction unexpectedly and perfectly used people as cover. Maybe if I had time to think, I would have come to conclusion that she knew I was following and that it wasn't smart idea, but right now I was too caught up by the fact something was finally happening. I hadn't fully realized how very tired of the stillness of my life I was yet.
The crowd became thinner and thinner, we were nearing the suburb area. I could follow her with eyes more easily now. Finally, I nearly reached her, but the girl turned into a lane. I paused only for a second, then followed.
She had already gotten further and I, tired of the chasing, called after her: "wait!"
The girl stopped. I was surprised - subconsciously I hadn't expected her to.
"What do you want?" she asked and I couldn't understand the tone of her voice, the emotions that were like hidden beneath the ice.
"Why do you wear cats mask?"
Next moment, I was ready to hit my self. I couldn't have asked anything more stupid and pointless, could I? But then again, what exactly I wanted to know anyway?
She looked over her shoulder at me, green eyes glinting in the dim light and gave me malicious smile.
"Who says it's a mask?"