A Revelation

Ivy reluctantly attends a New Year's Eve party with her best friend not knowing that her simple life is about to become really complicated.

 

My friends had rented a limousine, unbeknownst to me. I felt really bad that I had not chipped in on paying for the transportation. Alex and Mandy insisted it was part of some belated birthday present for me. I tried to argue with them but they would not budge so I finally sat back as I stared out the window at the changing scenery.

Alex and Mandy chatted among themselves. Every so often I would try to listen but not enough to pay attention to what they were saying. I glanced over at Alex who was always very animated in her expressions and Mandy seemed to find this amusing. Her smiling eyes followed every gesture as Alex spoke. Alex was telling a story about a performer who botched her lines and ended up tripping on her own skirt, pulling it off in front of an audience. I looked over as the two of them started laughing. I chuckled to myself and then redirected my attention out the window.

It seemed we had been in the car for a long time however I had no idea what time it was but it really didn’t matter I decided as I looked down at my hands in my lap. Time was time and it went at its own pace. No amount of wanting could make it go any fast but watching the clock could make it seem slower. I thought about Mandy’s hopes for me to have fun tonight and decided that I would pack my grief away in a little box and tuck it deep inside of me. I would open it later and let it over come me but for now, it had to stay quiet and contained. I could do that for my two best friends who were trying hard to help me.

Returning my focus back out the window it was obvious that we now in the downtown area. The bright lights of the city illuminated the inside of the limousine through the sun roof. I loved the city at nighttime. It was so alive with lights and people. I rolled down my window a few inches to take in the smell. It was a mixture of cool moist air, wet streets, and fragrance. I closed my eyes as I breathed in deep through my nose taking it all in. The sound of the brakes on the car made my open my eyes as we pulled up to a gated community just off the river front. The car paused for a minute at the gate and then the big iron doors slowly creaked open. I rolled my window back up as we drove through the gates opening.

I marveled at the large three story townhomes we passed. Most were contemporary in design however there were some more traditional homes thrown in the mix. We pulled in front of a large loft style townhome that sat partially in the side of a hill facing the river. It had a balcony on the second floor that looked like the main living area. The front of the second and third floor was mostly glass and you could see the third floor loft from the road. Two large spheres hung suspended from the ceiling of the third floor over the second floor living area. There were white Christmas lights wrapped around the balcony’s railing and people were already mingling out on the balcony where several large heating lanterns burned to knock off the chill of the night.

“Oh my God!” Mandy exclaimed laughing in shock. I smiled at Mandy then back up to the house. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. I remembered when the houses were completed six months ago and I was really curious to see what the inside of the house looked like.

“Beautimous ain’t it.” Alex said imitating a country accent as the chauffer opened her door and offered his hand to help her out of the car. We all filed out behind her. Alex spoke again giving us some background on the hostess of the party who was also the owner of the house. “The person who lives here is the owner of several theaters of the arts both here and overseas. Her name is Morgan le Fay and even though she comes from old money, she is very down to earth. Some people say she is a mystic but if she is, she keeps that part to herself. Morgan helped me when I opened my theater. She gave me guidance and helped me find fabulous performers.” We were just reaching the front door which looked like it was old world with deep engravings and dark rich color. Alex opened the door and we walked into a short entrance foyer that gave way to a large open room. From what I could tell, we entered onto the second floor.

I gazed around the room in wonderment at all of its modern and old world furnishings. There were beautiful classic paintings on the walls mixed in with mirrors and modern art. There was an open kitchen with expensive stainless appliances. The floors looked like black marble with area rugs scattered throughout the room. There was a bar area under the third floor walkway with a black marble countertop, a deep mahogany wood base, and three small domed lights that hung from the ceiling which was the third floor loft. The house was incredible and I was sure it was very expensive.

Alex took our coats and hung them in the hall closet. She grabbed mine and Mandy’s hand as she pulled us into the big open room. I looked to my right and could see out of the big front windows. The lights of the city were in, perfect view of course. I could also see the river and marveled at how the lights danced across the otherwise black water. I pulled my eyes away from the breathtaking view to survey the crowd. Most of the men and woman looked like models and I became oddly aware of that fact. I looked down at my dress and fidgeted with the sash and pleats in the skirt. I raised a nervous hand to my hair hoping all was in place. Before I had a chance to worry if my lipstick might be smudged, I heard a voice calling out in the crowd.

“Alex, darling, you made it!” I looked up to see an older woman with dark hair drifting towards us with her hands extended. She had an older beauty with deep brown eyes, olive skin and a bright smile. She almost reminded me of what I thought a gypsy would look like. She clasped Alex’s hand in her own and pulled Alex to herself kissing both cheeks. “And you brought your friends! How lovely!” I detected a slight accent in her voice but was not sure of what descent the accent was.

“Morgan, I would like for you to meet my dear friends Mandy and Ivy.” Alex motioned to each of us as she introduced us.

As Morgan took Mandy’s hand she stated “Mandy is short for Amanda.” I saw Mandy’s eyes look confused as she started to smile

“Yes. That’s right.” Mandy said. “It is so nice to meet you and your home is absolutely gorgeous.”

“Thank you” Morgan replied. Her hand flitted around as she spoke again, “It’s just something to do in my spare time.” She smiled then she reached for my hand. “Oh…” she said like she had been shocked. Morgan’s expression went blank for a few seconds like the life force had been pulled from her body. It was embarrassingly noticeable and I shot a quick look at Alex who seemed a little nervous and then just as quickly as it happened, Morgan’s face reanimated as a smile fell upon her lips. She started to pull me closer and as she placed her cheek against mine she whispered, “We must talk soon.” I felt a tingle go down my spine. It almost seemed that time had stopped for a second and then everything was back to normal like nothing happened. Soft music began to play blending into the background noise.

“Please enjoy yourselves, eat, drink, have fun! The New Year is upon us and we must celebrate.” Morgan exclaimed to all of her guests with one hand raised. The crowd clapped and then Morgan was gone.

“Wow” Mandy said. “She’s a little eclectic isn’t she?”

“She is fantastic.” Alex said then continued,” If I could be so lucky to be like her when I am that age.”

Neither of them seemed to acknowledge the strange exchange between Morgan and me. It was like it was instantly erased from their memory but I still felt a little un-nerved. My eyes darted around the room but I could not see her anywhere in the crowd. There were only beautiful people in expensive clothes, some with champagne glasses in their hand. One woman stood out to me through the crowd. She had flaming red hair and I beautiful golden brown satin dress that accentuated her pale skin. She was talking with a gentleman in a dark suit with dark hair. The woman suddenly threw back her head and laughed. The sound of her laughter was light and airy like the tinkling of thin crystal as it traveled over the dull hum of the crowd and music. The sound was infectious and made me feel a little happy but still strangely out of place. I looked away, “Wow, I am so out of my league here.” I mumbled then glanced back toward the woman with the red hair who was looking right at me and smiled. I smiled back a little shocked and then turned back toward Alex and Mandy.

The night wore on as I was being towed around the room by my friends. I was introduced to countless amounts of people none of them I would remember and was unusually intimidated by their beauty. At some point I glanced up and found a huge clock on the staircase wall. Its only 10:30 I thought to myself. This is going to be a long night. The music at some point had changed over from smooth jazzy classical to club type music I didn’t recognize. Some people had started dancing.

It felt like hours but it had barely been thirty minutes. Mandy and Alex were engrossed in conversation with some of the other guests so neither one of them saw me slip out onto the balcony. The cool air felt good on my skin as I walked onto the wooden deck. I could feel the warmth of the outside patio heaters swirling around me. I continued across the balcony to the railing and I stood there staring beyond the river to the city. I was alone outside so it startled me when I felt a presence beside me. I turned instinctively to see who it was and was surprised to see Morgan standing next to me.

“You have a gift,” she began. “Most people have to work hard, conditioning themselves for what comes naturally for you.” I looked at her confused as she continued. “You have a beautiful soul that is intertwined with magic. You have been taught not to see but it is there just the same.”

What was Morgan saying to me? Did I hear her right? Did she just say magic? This woman is nuts….no crazy….she’s crazy! I thought to myself.

“No my dear, not crazy.” Morgan said answering my thoughts. My mouth fell open. “You have a very bright and colorful aura….very intense and very clear but you have been clouded by the judgment of others. There is a shroud of sadness that you must lift to see. Be wary of the darkness that will come, the false witness.” My head was spinning. I felt shock and disbelief. I still could not comprehend the words that were coming out of Morgan’s mouth. She was quiet for a few seconds and then she began speaking again.

“You must understand. Forget the way you were taught, open your mind to what I am telling you.” I looked into her eyes as she smiled at me warmly. I could not ignore the hint of desperation in her voice. “Is it really that hard to believe? Since you were old enough to be aware you have felt it.” I knew she was right. I had kind of a sixth sense for things. I had always felt energies channeling through me but was always forced not to believe. I found myself nodding at the words she spoke.

“I need to show you some things but some minds are fragile and can’t be exposed.” Morgan shifted a glance back to the party. “Go to the door at the bottom of the stairs. I will be waiting for you there. Keep your mind open.” And with that, Morgan was back in the house and gone in the crowd. I shivered and rubbed my arms with my hands. I wasn’t sure if it was the cold or the information that chilled me but I knew I could not stop now. I needed to know what Morgan was trying to tell me. There was urgency in her voice that I could not ignore and a fear of what was to come. I turned towards the house and forced my legs to move towards the door.

The music had gotten a little louder and more people were dancing inside. I carefully slid around the moving bodies to the door at the bottom of the staircase. I took a deep breath and walked into the dark room closing the door behind me. It was quiet in the room and I was surprised by that with all of the noise just on the other side of the wall. My eyes tried to focus to the darkness. I could feel Morgan in the room like an energy tugging at my body. Suddenly she was next to me again and she took both of my hands in hers.

“You must keep quiet no matter what you see. Remember, open mind.” Morgan whispered. I nodded and she closed her eyes.

The room started to swirl and dissolve from around us. Suddenly there were images around us moving more slowly and against the darkness around us. The images were close enough to touch but I didn’t try to anything move more than my eyes.

Suddenly, there was the image of my grandmother. She was young and walking in the meadow like she was in my dreams. The sun was shining off of her dark hair and she was smiling. I could feel her happiness in that moment as it welled up in my chest.

“The protector” Morgan said like her voice had disconnected from her body. The images shifted to my mother. Her face was drawn and her dark, blank eyes stared back at me.  The happiness started to sink into despair as I looked at my mother. “The withered soul,” Morgan spoke again. I then saw Alex and Mandy’s smiling faces. “The kindred spirits.” It was amazing to see all the images as they formed around us. I had looked down for a second and it looked like the floor was gone underneath us. It looked like it had been replaced by the deep starry night sky. When I looked up and there were grayish black clouds spinning slowly above us like a vortex. I could not believe this was real and yet here it was happening right here before me.

I concentrated on the images again and I saw the back of a man in a dark suit. As he turned his face to the side, Morgan spoke again. “The lover” she said. This confused and stunned me because I was not involved with anyone and had not been in quite some time. I did not recognize him as someone I knew and even if I did know him, his face was too hazy in the image to be sure of anything.

The room suddenly got colder and darker. Three white haired old women appeared. Their faces were close together and shrouded in darkness. At first they were all three looking down but I could not see what they were looking at. Then their eyes snapped open and affixed themselves on me. I felt a rush of fear and panic as my skin began to feel the prickling cold in the air. Their eyes had black rings around the irises but the irises themselves were almost white with a tinge of yellowish green and the pupils we small.

“The haggard sisters,” Morgan’s voice broke into a deep and raspy hiss. My hair stood up on my arms as I looked into the long withered faces of the three old women. I could not look away from their eyes even though I was scared. My body was stiff with fear and my heart beating wildly in my chest. Wicked smiles came across their lips as the woman in the middle started to reach out for me. I tried to force my eyes closed but could not budge them. There was an unexpected bright flash of light and the images were gone. Then, just as quickly as it started, it was over. The room was back to normal. I watched Morgan open her eyes and our hands dropped. She took a few steps back as the door opened. I turned my head to look at the figure in the doorway.

“There you are!” Mandy exclaimed as she came towards me. “You are going to miss the count down.” She grabbed my cold clammy hand. “Are you ok?” she asked. “Your hands are so cold.” I turned to look back at Morgan but she was gone.

“I am fine.” I lied as I forced myself to smile. The images I had seen were moving through my head but the one of the three old women felt like it was burning my brain like a red hot poker. What did it all mean? I wondered as I was pulled into the crowded main room? I felt dizzy and wanted to lie down but I knew there was no way I could disappear again.

I tried to concentrate on breathing as Mandy pulled me to Alex. I glanced up at the clock on the staircase wall. I was shocked to see that only 15 minutes had passed since I last checked on the time. It seemed like a whole life time had passed.

“Where have you been hiding?” Alex asked as I walked up with Mandy.

“I went outside to get some air and clear my head. I think the wine was giving me a headache. It was too cold so I found an empty room to relax in.” I knew this was the farthest thing from the truth because I knew I had not had wine but it was the best excuse I could come up with.

“You do look a little pale.” Alex pointed out. “We can go if you want”

“No…I’m fine.” I blurted out as I attempted to smile again. No matter what I was not going to ruin their evening

“Are you sure?” Mandy asked with skepticism in her voice.

“I’m sure.” I said still fighting to regain my composure. I didn’t want to take away from my two best friends who were clearly trying to cheer me up. I couldn’t help but feel however that I had stepped out of the frying pan and into the fire. I was certain that there was nothing I could do tonight but force myself to look happy.

 The rest of the night was uneventful compared to the time with Morgan. The countdown came and went. More champagne bottles were opened, confetti fell from the rafters, the music kicked up in tempo and the guests were ringing in the New Year with kisses and hugs. Both Mandy and Alex had hugged me and then started to make me dance with then. Mandy grabbed one of my hands lifting it up in the air to twirl me around then let me go.

Alex then grabbed my other hand, rolled me into her and then spun me out into the crowd. I didn’t go far but far enough to bump into someone. “Oh.. I am so sorry.” I yelled into the crowd trying to turn around to see who I ran into. I felt smooth hands on each of my arms like someone was trying to straighten me and make sure that I had my balance.

“There is nothing to be sorry for, love.” I felt the words whispering in my ear. The warm breath tickled the side of my face. The male voice was definitely English and was very appealing. I could feel his presence around me and his smell was intoxicating. I felt myself melting as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath slightly leaning against the man that was standing behind me. I felt warmth and comfort sooth over me like the overwhelming feeling that everything would be ok. Then just as quickly as it happened it was over. I opened my eyes and realized whoever was there had gone. I turned around but only saw dancing bodies. The room had taken on the scene of a dance club with flashing lights and loud music. I knew there was no point in looking for this man because I didn’t even know who I was looking for. I slowly made my way back to Alex and Mandy.

I didn’t see Morgan for the rest of the night nor did I discover who the man was who caught me. I did know however that I would see Morgan again. The three of us left the party close to two in the morning. New Year’s Eve was on a Thursday this year and I had New Year’s Day off which also gave me the weekend plus I had taken the whole next week off. Work was usually slow just after the holidays so I didn’t have to convince my boss that he could live without me for that one week. Hopefully that would give me enough time to figure out what was happening to me.

We all chatted about the party, the house, and the guests as we rode home. I made myself sound enthusiastic so Mandy and Alex would think that I had a great time. I hoped I was convincing because I them to think there plan was a success.  Closing my eyes, I thought about everything that had happened. I knew that I needed to know more and to understand what was going on but the further we got from Morgan’s house, the more the experience seemed like a strange dream. I closed my eyes and tried to envision the face of the man who I had bumped into earlier. I could almost smell him again as I felt myself smile. Maybe I didn’t see him with my own eyes but I knew that he’d sent all my other senses reeling. 

The car stopped and my eyes opened. We were back at Alex’s apartment. Alex lived not far from me however we had all agreed beforehand that we would all stay the night at Alex’s house. We knew it would be late and some of us may have been drinking so we all decided it was the best thing to do.

Alex definitely had a bigger place than I did. Her apartments had been a factory at one time so the units were huge. The apartment still had the original brick walls and high ceilings from the factory. The front room had big arched windows with a good sized kitchen which was separated from the living area by a bar. To the left was a hallway that led to the bedrooms. The first door was Alex’s bedroom that had its own bathroom, the second door was the other bathroom, and the third door was the guest bedroom. At the end of the hall way was a large laundry area.

Mandy and Alex had already decided that I would sleep in Alex’s room, Mandy would take the guest room, and Alex would take the couch. I was so exhausted when we finally got into Alex’s apartment, I wouldn’t have cared if I slept on the floor. I said my goodnights, thanked them for a fantastic evening, and retreated to the bedroom.

I remember changing clothes and brushing my teeth but once my head hit the pillow, everything went black.

Author's Note

Remember this is still a rough draft. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

Reviews

[Charles D. Moorer]

This flows much the same way as the first "chapter" and there some word choices I would avoid. I know you described Morgan, but she needs to be fully fleshed out, as it appears that she will be a major character. I guess the only thing lacking in this chapter is a foreshadowing element of what is to come. Was the person who caught here as she fell it? were the three haggard women it, was the grandmother it? are they all it?
Again, very nicely written, with a gentle urgency that pulls the writer along, not a barn burner, but you care what happens to the character. Good Job.

[David Lucero]

This is very good work! Your description of the three girlfriends was rock solid. You wrote in such a way that you could understand their relationship in a very real way. The reminiscing part when she went through her old neighborhood was genuine. I think a lot of people have experienced something like that and will be able to relate to it. The New Year's Party sounded good and practical. I've seen lots of girls get together on the floor and keep each other company while the guys with cold feet watched. I liked it. Keep it up! You're onto something good!

[Voice]

Yes I like this a lot you have a lot of passion for your story because it comes from your heart and that is the best type of writing. I don't know if you plan on trying to get this published but if you do let me know I'll be one of the first to buy it :) and please let me know if you post more...

[Bhavya Kaushik]

It is really good, considering the fact that it is still a rough draft..

I agree with Chalimo that it flow exactly the way most of the first chapters do but still your writing style is very different and I liked it a lot...
I guess most of the readers would be able to relate themselves with this with your writing style.
Great work :)