31 August 2012
Prologue The sun had set and silence settled over the streets like a mysterious fog. A girl wondered through the narrow alleys of tight buildings. A small child lay sleeping in her arms. The girl gently brushed the baby's cool cheek, not wanting to wake her. She allowed a tear escape from her sleepy eyes, and roll down her grimy face. She couldn't keep her little sister much longer, for she was only a child herself. She had been traveling for many days now. Her tired, bare feet ached from miles of walking on the merciless stoney road. But she had to keep going! She distracted herself with thoughts of what her precious little sister would be like, growing up in theater marvelous. There she would be safe. John was there and he would care for her. Maybe she could learn how to sing, and become so much more than what their mother had become. A chilling rain began to fall on the girl and her baby sister. The girl wrapped her black cloak tighter around them and continued,moving swiftly across the flooding ground. Lightning flashed and lit up the sky around them for only a second. And then thunder rumbled from over head. The sudden crash awoke the sleeping baby, and she began to whimper. Her sister pulled her closer and tried to quiet her. They could not be spotted! Finally, over the howling wind and rain, the girl began to sing. She sang the song her mother sang every night to her as a child... so many years ago. Her voice seemed to calm the child and lull her back to sleep. A dry apartment doorstep in an ally on the west side of the theater marked the end of their journey. The girl bit her lip, silently making a promise to not cry. She would see her sister again. A small wooden crate lay against the door. John had already prepared for this 'package' and had set everything so that the delivery could be quick and without question. This was what they had been readying for months now. 'this doesn't have to be this way,' the girl thought. For she was sixteen and knew she could care for the child. But this was the safest and best way. The girl knew that. She knew that she couldn't support her sister and herself. So for the last time, the girl hugged her sister and kissed her fore head. When she settled the baby in the crate, she saw that her locket had come loose and was tightly clenched in her sisters tiny fist. The locket was the last she had of her grand father. He acted like a father to her and provided all that they needed. Yet when his death came, everything about him was burned in a mysterious fire except for this locket with his picture in it. Also on the front was carved a rose and a half-mask upon the back. The girl looked at the sleeping child and began to sing the song again... She lightly tapped on the door and with one last good bye said, "sleep well, little lotte," like what her mother would say... And then disappeared into the night like a shadow.
There was a slight knock on the door. John had been waiting for his package for weeks now, and finally it had arrived. He quietly opened the door and looked at what lie in the crate. The little girl slept soundly, her chest rising and falling with breath. He gently gathered her in his arms and walked into the small apartment, which was built into the theater. He closed the door with his foot and continued to a small room he had prepared with a cradle and a dresser. Placing the baby inside, something caught his eye. A locket. Silver locket. He brought the necklace up in his hand, and unclipped it. He peered at the blurry image. He stared at it for a long time, then shut it. The locket had stirred memories that have been buried over years of pushing them to the back of his mind. Along with the ashes of the charred past. John closed the locket and set it on the dresser, shoveling those thoughts back into his mind. Before leaving the room, he whispered: "welcome to Theater Marvelous... Avalon Grace..." Then he left the child alone.
Somewhere within the shadows of the room, a figure looked down upon the sleeping girl. He thought aloud: "Avalon ... Avalon Grace..."
The Finished Score • Opuss № I