Masks

Chapter 7

Suave and I gaze through the dusty and foggy glass of the window, down at the drop below to the backyard. We grip the bottom of the window, and on the count of three, we both try to push it up. However, after a couple attempts, it seems we aren’t strong enough to get it open. We tire out, and I look down to my hooves which are caked in dust and grim from the window. “How are we going to get this open?” Suave asks. Soon after, we begin to hear heavy steps ascending the stairs beyond the room.

“I-I don’t know-but we have to keep trying!” I panic, using all of the might I possess to force the window open. Suave, noticing the approaching threat, rejoins me in my struggle. The wood creaks, and the window is suddenly dislodged, but only slightly. The escape to our freedom is nearly set, we just need to keep trying. I can feel and hear the wind from outside begging for us to escape, encouraging me to push even harder on the bottom of the window.

“Suave? Avral? What is all this commotion I hear?” Suave’s Father asks, nearing the door.

“Suave we need to hurry!” I urge her, trying to keep my voice as low as possible.

“I’m trying!” She says, clearly suffering from fatigue. The door to the room opens, just as the window finally gives way. Our escape is right before us, yet here we stand, frozen in fear as we stare blankly at Suave’s Father. The moonlight from the window barely reaches his still body, but reveals part of his mask to where one of his dark, vacant eyes are visible. He’s just standing there, watching, not saying a word. I can only imagine what are in his thoughts at this very moment, what he’s thinking of doing to us for trying to escape. “Avral . . . he’s mad. Very mad.”

“We need to jump.”

“No. No, no, no-he’s mad. Who knows what he’ll do to us now?”

“Suave honey, can you come here please?” Her Father asks in a gentle tone.

“Suave, don’t.” I beg.

“Please dear? I promise you aren’t in any trouble. It’s Avral who’s the one that needs to be punished. He’s the one who’s been naughty.”

“Suave, don’t listen to him.”

“Come, Suave, be a good girl and listen to your Father,” he says, lending out his hoof to her.

“Suave, please, don’t.” Suave turns to me, then back to her Father. The silence is growing, all I can feel is every beat from my heart, and the sudden belief that she may leave me. I know how frightened she was the first time her Father punished her, and perhaps she’ll take the chance that maybe he’ll let her go this time. Although, I believe she’s stronger than that, I know she is. Every passing second feels like torture waiting for her response. ‘Please Suave, don’t listen, don’t go,’ is all I can say to myself now. She turns to the corner of the room where the masked creature sat, but long behold, that corner of the room is now empty.

“No Father . . . I won’t,” she says. Suave’s Father doesn’t say another word as his hoof is slowly brought back down to the floor. He continues to stand there, motionless. Until he suddenly charges towards us in a burst of speed. The both of us turn and climb onto the windowsill, and without a second thought, we toss ourselves out of the window. Our bodies tumble over the grass, we feel from such a height that my leg and side feel like they’ve bruised, and my head aches. I lift my head, and see Suave’s Father looking down at us from the window before he turns and joins the shadows. He could be making his way downstairs right now, and we need to move.

I force myself up, looking around for Suave, and I find her struggling to sit up. I hurry to her side, and I find that her porcelain mask has a jagged crack running down the middle of it; and her dress is splotched with stains of dirt and grass. “Are you alright?” I ask.

“I-I think so. We-We need to go, we need to get to the woods. Just follow me, I’ll guide us there.” She struggles to stand, but manages to stay strong. We trot away from the house, following the dirt road to the exit of town. Suspiciously, the village seems empty. Not a single pony is found along the road, and not a single voice accompanies the wind. However, I have no time to think about that, I need to focus on leaving. I need to get back home, ‘we’ need to get out of here. “We’re not too far now, just make a right down here, and we should be headed in the right direction.” We turn the corner, and our sprint comes to a screeching halt after seeing what is brought before us. What seems like the entire town is gathered on this one road, with lit candles in their hooves, glaring right at us as if they have been waiting there the whole time. Everypony from the park is in the group, including the Mayor and even Suave’s Mother.

“Leaving so soon Mister Avral?” The Mayor asks. “We’ve been looking all over for you. Have you made your decision yet? Has Sauve’s Father helped you understand what it is you ‘really’ want?”

“No, no-you leave me alone!” I shout.

“Suave honey, why don’t come and stand by your Mother?” Suave’s Mother asks. “I’ve been worried about you. Avral seems very ill, I think it’s best you stay away from him.”

“N-No Mother, I won’t,” says Suave.

“Avral, please, we insist,” says the Mayor.

“Yes, we insist.” Suave’s Mother adds. Soon, every pony in the mob begins chanting the same phrase.

“We insist. We insist. We insist,” they say, as they all start stepping toward us.

“Avral, follow me!” Suave advises as she yanks me by the foreleg. Together, Suave and I retreat to follow a new path to reach the woods. I can’t help but glance back at the approaching mob of ponies; however, every time I look back, it seems that they are always closer to us than the last glance. With Suave and I trotting, they somehow manage to keep up with us while in a calm stroll. More ponies emerge from their homes, bursting open their doors, with a candle in their hoof to join the chase. Mares, stallions, fillies, and colts, all chanting the same two hypnotic words; but Suave and I try to block them out, focusing only on escaping. Making sharp turns and cutting corners, we make our way back around to the point to where we should have left before being stopped by the mob. We gallop across the grassy plain, and with not a flicker of a candle in sight, we approach the dense woods from which we came. “You remember the way back don’t you?”

“Um . . . I-I think so.” I stutter.

“Just keep going straight, you should find the spot where we first met. From there, you should be able to find your way home.”

“Okay, well come on, let’s go!” I grab her hoof, and attempt to bolt into the woods, but am stopped as Suave holds her place, refusing to follow. “Suave? What are you doing? Come on, we have to go!” I urge her as I yank on her hoof.

“Avral I . . . I can’t.”

“W-What do you mean? I thought you wanted to come with me, to see my town? To get away from here?”

“I know, but . . . it doesn’t feel right.” Baffled and frustrated, I look on, speechless. “My family is back there Avral, I can’t just leave them.”

“B-But, after all the trouble you went through with me, who knows how much trouble you’ll be in once they catch you?!”

“I’ve been hiding, running away for too long Avral; and I think it’s time I stopped. It’s time I be brave, just like you.”

“Suave, please, don’t. I-I made you a promise!”

“No more promises Avral. You’ve kept every promise you’ve made me up until now, and that was all you needed to do. I helped you understand why you don’t need to hide behind that silly hood, didn’t I?”

“. . . Yes.”

“And you helped me understand that I can’t keep hiding behind my mask, not just the one on my face, but the one where I pretend to be somepony different. Where I pretend to love and cherish their rules just like everyone else. Well, not anymore.”

“W-What are you going to do?” Instead of answering, Suave reaches behind her head, and unties the black strap keeping her mask in place. She grabs the edges of her mask, and carefully lifts it away from her face, lowering it down to her chest. It feels strange, as I have been so used to seeing her porcelain mask, that seeing her in her truest form almost makes it feel like I’m staring at a stranger. Perhaps it’s because of the pure shock that shot through my entire body as she removed her mask. However, as I examine her features, it now feels like I’ve seen her many times before, as if I’ve already known her for many years. I’m not sure if it’s just the new way Suave has taught me to view a face, but to me, everything about her face is perfect. Her most outstanding feature would have to be her eyes. It’s hard to believe the shadow of the mask was able to hide such a magnificent glow. The moonlight brings out the sparkling gloss of her ocean blue eyes, in a way that seems to have made me forget all about the threat and horror of the village.

“Avral, how do I look?” A question so simple to answer, I respond without as much as a second of hesitation.

“Beautiful,” I say promptly. Suave’s eyes begin to water, and her pale cheeks flush. A smile spreads across her face, and now I understand just how she felt when she spoke to me during the party at the park. Their truly is something about seeing a ‘real’ smile as opposed to the one sculpted on every white mask. Indeed, there is something wonderful about seeing her real smile, so wonderful that I can’t help but give her a smile just as big. She leaps into me, wrapping her forelegs around me with her chin over my shoulder. Finally breaking down, I put my forelegs around her with just as much strength and passion, and maybe just the same amount of tears streaming down our faces. I can only wish that I didn’t have to let go, but as soon as she begins to tear away from me, I feel I have no choice. Suave takes a few steps away from me, tossing her mask into the grass.

“Goodbye Avral, thank you for everything.”

“Goodbye . . . Suave.” She turns and walks back to her village, as the wind blows her mane, dress, and the tall grass around her. Up ahead, I watch in terror as several little, orange lights appear ahead of her. With the fear building up inside of me, I call out to her one last time. “Suave!” She stops, and turns her head back to me. “Will we see each other again?!”

“Maybe! Maybe we will!” She continues to walk towards the lights, and I, not wanting to watch her leave any longer, gallop into the woods. It feels like there’s a hurricane of emotions stirring in my head and heart. Fear, sadness, and even anger are bubbling up inside me. I should have faced them with her, I shouldn’t have let her go alone; but what is someone like me to do? I’m small and weak, I couldn’t stand up to her Father, so how am I supposed to face an entire town? Then again, am I just asking these questions to make myself feel better for running away? I want to stop and turn back, but my legs just won’t stop. Perhaps she is the best one to convince them, to help them understand unlike an outsider like me. With every passing second being precious time wasted on making my decision, I cannot muster the strength to go back. With the anger, and hatred of myself building, I think back to her final goodbye. No Suave, there is no ‘maybe’, we ‘will’ see each other again. She said no more promises, but I don’t care. Suave, I promise I’ll be back; I won’t let this fear keep its grip around me. Galloping passed the small open area I found before I met Sauve, I can’t help but glance back, realizing Distracted by my constant glances back at the direction I came, I stumble and plummet down to the forest floor with a hard thud, and am overcome by a sudden blackness.