My heart fluttered wildly. I felt it clobbering against my chest. The organ morphed into a crimson fiend that knocked at my rib cage. It clutched my lungs; claws pressed until I could no longer restrain my body’s tremble. I exhaled its blazing breath. My lips sealed it inside with a slender, assertive smile. The orchestral introduction prepared our entrance. No one would ever meet the creature; it was part of what I had hidden as lights washed and blinded me. Haze sheltered us from the synchronized voices contouring our strong frames. I blinked once. The stage returned to me.