"Hush"

“Hush”

By Cody Williams

 

“Hush” is what he whispered to me as he gently pressed his index finger against my lips

I knew not his name, nor did I care

I saw not his face, but the large red and black mask that covered it

He gently patted me on the shoulder and I turned around

 

I, too was wearing a mask

A gold one with two black stripes running down the sides

It covered only my eyes, forehead, and the top of my nose

When I held it up to my face

 

“Can I help you?” I asked him

He said nothing

The gentleman reached out his white glove covered hand and motioned for me to grab it

I did, and we started to dance

 

He led me through the dance, as I would expect him to

My hand covered the top of his as we moved across the floor

I gazed into where his eyes should have been

But there was nothing there, nothing at all behind the mask

 

A feeling of emptiness arose over my body

A chill ran up my spine

There was a coldness to him, but I did not care

We continued to dance across the ballroom

 

Many of the visitors looked at us

They, too, had masks covering their face

Many of them whispered amonst themselves

And pointed at the man

 

I imagined that they were quite stunned

I was too

I’m sure that they had no earthly idea of who the gentleman was

Neither did I, but it did not matter

 

I leaned in close to him and rested my chin on his left shoulder

“My name is Emily” I whispered in his hear

The man still said nothing

As he lifted his arm to twerl and dip me

 

We danced for what seemed like hours

When the clock struck twelve I looked up at it as the bell tolled

When I turned back around, the gentleman was gone

I could see the tale of his trench coat flap as he turned to corner to leave the ballroom

 

I took off the mask and went after him

When I turned the corner I could see him standing at the front door

He looked back at me and then kicked the double door open

I hurried to the door to look out

 

The gentleman had disappeared into the fog that covered the courtyard

I stood out on the porch and called out for him

“Hello? Sir? I never got your name!”

He did not answer, he was gone

Copyright © 2015 by Cody Williams
Courtesy of TRUE TERROR PUBLICATIONS
A division of TTP Entertainment

Reviews

[Quinn]

Wonderful poem with a good story too, nicely done