Music filled the air as I stepped into the big hall. Dim enlightenment made the whole surrounding seem reddish. It was dark and I couldn't recognize anyone. Mostly because masks were covering the faces of all the people that were either, dancing in the center of the room, right under the big old-fashion chandelier with strips of diamonds lingering from it, or talking in groups. No one had their face uncovered. On either sides of the dance floor there were two big staircases leading to the first floor that encircled the whole structure, leaving only the center without anything above it aside for the roof and the chandelier.
All the women had long sleeveless dresses. The upper part of their body was almost completely uncovered as they all had their shoulders uncovered with low necklines and sometimes even with backless dresses. Everyone though, had the lower part of the dress pumped up, with layers and layers of fabrics before falling loose on the ground, covering the whole lower body. Colors were of the most various, from simple and elegant black, to bright yellow or green. The masks always matching the clothes with glitters or elaborated patterns to double the elegance of the entire outfit. Even with all those bulky dresses, everyone’s movement were swift and graceful. No one bumped into one another, no one tripped or anything. It was perfect, every moves were controlled and measured yet they seemed natural.
All the men were wearing tuxedos. Unlike the ladies’ dresses, men had only two colors, black or white. Most of them were wearing black jacket with underneath a vest or directly the white shirt. Necktie or bow tie wasn't really relevant, but everyone had one of them. What was strictly necessary, was the masks on them too. Simple black mask, covering the eyes and sometimes the nose. A very few had the mask covering completely the face. No one was without it, no women nor men. Except me.
I was wearing a black suit, without a vest and with a black necktie over my white shirt. Pretty simple. The only odd thing was that I had no mask. I touched my eyes to see if it was just a feeling but no, there was nothing covering my face. Yet no one noticed. No one noticed me at all.
I went toward the counter, where bartenders served strictly alcoholic drinks. No one could get drunk anyway. Just like everything else, even the alcohol was just for show. I loved the taste of it. Sweet yet bitter. It burned as I shoved my glass of whiskey down my throat. A little low groan left my lips but it went unheard even to all those inhuman ears.
If anything were normal, then it wouldn't just be the loud beat of the loudspeakers that filled the place, but the loud chatting of people too. Yet, despite the blasting sound of the music, no one was yelling, or screaming, everyone was whispering to one another, as if talking loudly wasn't needed. And indeed it wasn't. No one there needed to rise the voice over the music to be listened.
I closed my eyes, blocking out the music and for a few moments I heard people talking as if they were addressing directly to me. It felt good. Amazing to be exact, being able to control my senses for once. I couldn't tell how I managed to do so, or how I managed to not be scared of all that. But for the first time in my life, I felt like I was myself.
The third glass of whiskey went down as if it was mere water. I didn't know how, but I knew that alcohol couldn't affect me, so I kept drinking. Soon I asked myself, for the second time that night, what was I doing there. At a masquerade ball. Without a mask.
I didn't need one tho, because no one glanced at me, not even for a split second. I was invisible yet, I knew I was there. Everyone knew I was there, they were just ignoring me. Maybe because I was no different from them, there was no need to acknowledge me if I wasn't special. Yet, sometimes I felt it, someone was looking at me. Not directly, but somehow I felt he was near, and I couldn't feel more safe than that. He was controlling me.
I watched all the figures dancing so smoothly, like it was all part of a well structured choreography and I felt jealous. I wanted to participate. I saw a girl, with a blue dress, tight around her chest but loose and voluminous on the skirt, with drops of folded cloth on the back. It was huge, but she managed to move around with innate elegance. I walked toward her, locking my eyes in her blue pearls until she jerked her body in an unnatural way, scaring both of us. She screamed and averted her gaze away from me as fast as she could, almost running away completely from me. In that moment I felt his presence being stronger, he was getting near and for a second I knew he was angry. I was shocked. I saw her back arch in pain but I didn't know exactly what caused that pain, even tho I could guess. I blinked a few times but the girl disappeared in no time from my vision. I looked around but no one seemed to have seen something, everyone just k