Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm

Author:Johanne Lykke Holm [Lykke Holm, Johanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2022-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

At midnight, Toni rang a large bell. There was an expectant hush. We stretched to catch a glimpse of Cassie, who was watching us through a gap in the theater curtain. The guests took their seats on the old folding chairs we had lined up in rows in front of the stage. We took a seat on the floor at the edge of the stage, close together. From the open windows came the smell of fire and grass. The moon hung close to the mountains. A quiet murmur came from the audience. I took out my pocket mirror and ran my finger over the small crack in the glass. From my hands came the scent of thunder and violets, the smell of aspirin. Above us the chandelier twisted slowly on its own axis. I ran my hand through my hair and put the mirror back in my pocket.

There was a tinkle, and the overhead lights went out. Alba whispered: It’s time. The curtains parted with a screech. The stage was lit by a spotlight and decorated like a girl’s room from another time. There was pink wallpaper and a jewelry box shaped like a seashell. In the middle hung an oval mirror flanked by kerosene lamps. Cassie made an entrance in a small hat and a dark green dress made of fake silk. One could tell by her face that she was returning from the very first ball of her life. She walked slowly across the stage on her tiptoes with a rose in her hands. She fell backward onto a bed and fell asleep. The rose in her hand dropped to the floor that was covered with a thick rug in a harmonious pattern. It was then that Rex, dressed as a ghost, showed herself in the window, which faced a woody garden. She climbed into the room and approached Cassie, who, still asleep, got up and danced with her. It was strange choreography. Stiff movements in perpetual repetition. Cassie seemed mechanical, as though someone were guiding her movements from a control room somewhere. In the background, something was suddenly illuminated from above. It was the doll from the coffin. She had been concealed behind the dressing table with her face turned away. They had dressed her up as Cassie. Her eyes shone eerily and seemed strangely alive. In the dimmed lighting, Cassie and the doll were identical. The ghost let go of the girl, who fell to the floor like a rag. He turned to the doll with an imploring and enamored gesture. With outstretched arms, he walked to the doll and lifted it up. Simultaneously, Cassie began performing a dance on her back in the middle of the stage floor. She writhed, as if in pain, and let her hair fly around her face like the mane of a horse when it gallops through the night. The tinkling began again, in time with her movements. At first it sounded soft and still, but then it went faster and faster, until it sounded like a single protracted, despairing note.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.