The Festival

The thump of drums and rhythmic beats of woodwind instruments invade the night air. A loud bang causes Steve to stir. His eyes flutter open as he groans with pain. He pushes himself off the cobble stone sidewalk he was laying in. He gets onto his knees and rubs his head with one hand. Looking up he sees lanterns lit along the street leading into a well lit plaza. In the distance he can see several people dancing and partying. Music seems to come from there but can be heard as if it was inside his head. He reaches out to the side to find a rough stone wall. It's cool to the touch as he uses it to pull himself up. He looks up and notices orange and yellow glows on the other side. Pressing his back against the wall Steve tried to orient himself.

A young woman in a flowing dress and a party mask comes up to Steve. Her mask is white with golden design along the forehead and lips. Her dress is a deep violet with black embroidered designs that can’t be made out in this low light. She looks at Steve with curiosity and wonder.

“Excuse me sir,” she bends down to pick something up, “you seem to have dropped your mask.”

Steve reaches out and takes the mask. Looking at it he can’t recall seeing it before. Its a red mask that resembles an angry monster of some kind. He turns it over in his hands to feel that it's heavier than plastic but lighter than metal. The strap in the back is a thin piece of twine.

“What’s going on?” he replies.

When he looks up to hand it back to the girl she’s already dancing her way down the street. He tries to catch up to the woman but is moving stiff and slow. He pushes through a group of people looking around to see if he can find her. Across the crowd near where the band is, Steve can see her. She looks over at him and waves. He starts to push in her direction. Every person is wearing a different kind of mask. Some masks are simple and regal and others are the stuff which nightmares come from. In the plaza he can see vendors of food or trinkets lining the walls. They only stop for doorways and the stage with the simple band.

When he gets next to the stage he looks up at the band. They play with precision and professional timing. Stever turns around looking all around once again. He seems to have lost her but notices the door he is standing next to is partly open. He hesitates a moment before slowly moving through the doorway. The heavy wooden door creaks and rubs against the floor. Inside the room the woman jumps out and scares Steve. He jumps back and the door slams behind him.

“Holy crap you scared me,” Steve says with a heavy breath.

“Are you having fun yet mister?” She replies.

“What is all of this?” he asks.

She looks at him confused, “You really don’t remember? It's the festival where we celebrate our loved ones. Both alive and dead. Are you ok?”

“I have no idea,” he admits to both her and himself.

“Well you need to have some fun and relax. You have to wear your mask though,” she instructs while pointing to the mask in his hand.

Without a reason not to, Steve puts the mask on. He instantly starts to feel like something is changing within and around him. He gently sways a little in every direction. The woman holds onto him to keep him still.

“I think you need to get something to eat and have a dance. We love to dance here,” she informs him while taking him back out of the room.

The music rings differently in his ears now. Instead of the energetic and exciting sounds he now hears screeches and aggressive pounding. The ringing it brings to his ears is almost deafening. He covers his ears as his female guide pulls him through the crowd.

He tries to keep his eyes focused but everything seems to blur and streak across his vision. The dancers leave trails of color behind as they spin and dip with the music. The lights from the lanterns become so intense Steve squints his eyes hard in pain. No longer able to keep them open as he is pulled along.

It seems as if this crowd never ends as they keep finding new bodies to move through. Steve finally forces his eyes open and realizes the whole party is moving with them like a parade. Large puppets seem to materialize from no one in particular. Some look like the image of the Grim Reaper and others look like Saints. The crowd chants as drummers rapidly slap their snares.

“Almost time,” a random person whispers in his ear.

Steve turns to try to find the source of the voice. The woman grabs his attention and keeps pulling him by his shirt. He can’t help but comply with the crowd's direction. The sense of community almost over takes him as they work together for a common celebration. Steve begins to feel extremely dizzy and fumbles to pull off his mask.

“Not yet,” another voice says as it stops him.

They crowd users Steve off the street onto the grounds of a large house. Stone walls keep others from being able to see what’s on the other side. The large iron double gate creeks as it is pushed open. Steve is guided to the back where a small group of people wait around an unlit fire pit. Some of the group is piling wood onto the ash pile in the hole. A balding older man with a small half mask stands at the top of the stairs leading to where the fire will be. He wears a long thick robe made from heavy materials.

The crowd around him begins to chant in a language Steve doesn’t recognize. The words send his mind into a state of trance and light headedness. The woman stops just before the fire pit and runs her hands on Steve’s chest.

She leans in tight to his ear, “Every festival needs a beginning.”

The ground starts to gather around Steve and the fire pit. He looks around confused and starts to worry. A few people light the wood up in front of him and a fire roars to life. The crowd closes in on chatting again. The older man raises his hands high over head.

The woman turns Steve around so his back is to the fire. She looks deeply into his eyes with both hands on his chest. Her breathing is in time with the chanting of everyone around them. She grips his shirt tightly with both hands.

“What’s happening?” Steve asks.

“We’re stuck if you don’t do something different next time,” she cryptically says.

Steve tries to move away but finds himself rooted in place. The woman is much stronger than she appears. He feels the sensation of falling taking over him as he notices her moving further away with her arms out stretched. The heat of the fire grows on his back and he moves into it.

The flames flare up large as his body is engulfed in the fire. The bonfire turns various colors with a massive pop that sends a shockwave out. The mask Steve wore shoots out of the fire and clacks against the ground as it bounces on the other side of the wall. The crowd is nowhere to be seen anymore. The older man and the woman both seem to have vanished from the scene of the fire that still rages on.

The night becomes cool again and the lanterns light the streets. Only the thump of drums and rhythmic beats of woodwind instruments invade the night air.