Learning to Love
The door opened slowly, too slowly for Allie. She was waiting to see her Beloved, as every other girl since the beginning of time had waited. The door was too grungy, too old looking, not the door of her dreams. She wanted to know who was on the other side, but she was afraid. If she chose to accept her Beloved, she would never be able to see her family again. If he rejected her, or she him, she would spend the rest of her life in her parents' tiny flat. Allie sucked in a huge breath, felt it slowly percolate her blood, refreshing her and helping her stand tall. The door finally swung open, and he was standing there, straight and tall. He was too beautiful, too beautiful for her. She shrank against the wall and prayed he would love her the way she knew she would love him. "Ten seconds, Allie. Yes or no?" the automated voice of the Beloved chamber asked.
"Yes," Allie squeaked, too scared to open her mouth fully. "Yes," she said again, more confident now that she had proven the worth of her voice.
"Darren has accepted as well. Long love, strong children, and an enduring partnership to you both." These words inspired new terror in Allie. Now that she had accepted Darren, she could never give him up without facing banishment or death.
"Our house is this way, Allie," Darren's voice said, strong and assured. He held her elbow and guided her out of the room. She leaned against his strong arm, too tired to hold herself up.
Two days later, Allie is already regretting her decision. She picks up a pile of Darren's papers and throws them against the wall. Then she sits down, too scared of her sudden burst of disobedience to do anything more. She grabs her lipstick and writes OUT on the mirror, leaving it up to him to interpret the message. She leaves, all in a flurry, wanting to see her parents and wishing for her best friends. As Allie walks down the too-fancy, made-up doll street, a cold gray rain begins to fall, matching her mood to the letter. Allie walked into the coffee shop, too tired and cold to notice that there would be a dance later. Someone hands her a mask and she takes it, not soaking in her surroundings or realizing what is going on. She orders a coffee and slowly drinks it over a good novel.
The lights go down, and she puts her mask on, realizing by now what was happening, but too scared of what the other people would think to leave. She starts to dance, and ends up waltzing with a tall man, who looks handsome around the mask and the mask is amazingly beautiful. They waltz well into the night, talking and learning more about each other than Darren and she have ever known. Allie is overjoyed to have found such a good friend, and maybe something more, though this violates the most sacred codes of her society. He leans down and kisses her quickly. "Who are you?" Allie whispers, shivers in the back of her mind.
"I won't take off my mask until you do," his whispers send chills down Allie's spine.
"I won't take mine off until you do," she says, firmly holding his ground.
"Together, then," he says, with conviction. Darren's face was behind the mask. "Allie?"
"Darren?"