The Haunting Of Oakspane

ACT III. Scene II.

I walked through the sadistic architects maze until I reached Aiko's room. She greeted me with open arms and we sorted through her closet of dresses. None of them fit very well but we decided on a simple black dress with a gold neckline and matching black heels. I admired my reflection in the mirror. 

"You look amazing!" 

"Are you sure it's not too tight?" I pulled at the fabric as insecurity wormed it's way into my thoughts. 

"Girl you have a body show it off!" Aiko stood beside me and tended to peach toned dress she has chosen for herself. It complimented her skin tone nicely. 

"I can do your makeup." I offered. 

Aiko raised a brow. "I didn't know you like makeup." 

"I don't but I used to do my sister's makeup a lot. Do you have a bag?"

She nodded as she tried to adjust her dress more. 

"It's on the dresser. The blue bag with the sequins." 

I grabbed the bag off the dresser and took a seat at her desk. She pulled up a chair next  to me and I got to work. As I dragged the black eyeliner brush across her lid I couldn't help but think about my sister. My therapist taught me that I shouldn't keep my thoughts to myself so instead of holding in my feelings I spoke them freely to Aiko. 

"My sister got really sick before I came here. She developed a muscular condition that ate away at her. It started with her legs and she had to use a wheelchair." 

I moved on to her other eye. 

"After that it spread faster and she couldn't get out of bed. She was losing weight and muscle mass rapidly. My sister loved to her have her makeup done and even though I couldn't stop her illness from spreading I still did her makeup everyday. She didn't have the muscles to smile but I could see it in her eyes when I held the mirror up to face. What color lipstick do you want?" 

"The  red is fine." Aiko's voice was soft. I had never been vulnerable with her before, but in that moment I was sharing something with her that I only kept in my head. I welcomed her into my heart and she appreciated it. I applied the lipstick gently. 

"When she died I felt like the whole world was crumbling beneath me. I didn't think I would ever stop crying. Eyeshadow?" 

"Just the nude palette." I grabbed the palette and brush. 

"My grandmother died when I was seven." It was her turn to be vulnerable. I valued the mutual exchange. Aiko closed her eyes as she spoke. 

"She died naturally, just got old. I know it's not the same, but I loved her deeply. She loved theater and praised me for every show that I was a part of. A lot people praised me. I was a cute little Asian prodigy, but my grandmother never treated me that way. To her I was just her granddaughter and I was just doing something amazing. She's the only person in my life that ever made me feel like I was worth more than my success."
 

"Why didn't you take the graduate school offer?" 

"Because I knew my grandmother wouldn't want me to. She was proud of me but she also wanted me to experience life to the fullest. She and my parents argued relentlessly about keeping me on the road for so long and making me work long hours. To them I was helping pay the bills but my grandmother didn't want that life for me. I didn't want it either." 

I finished Aiko's eyeshadow and handed her the compact mirror from her bag. She beamed. 

"This looks so cute!" She placed the mirror down. "Let me do you now." 

"What? No!"

"Oh come on it's only fair." Aiko pretended to pout and I rolled my eyes. She was right it was fair. 

"Okay do me up!" 

"Yay!" She clapped her hands together and reached for her bag. I hadn't been excited about the ball, but with Aiko by my side I could feel the freedom of butterflies in my stomach. I was proud to call her my friend.