Charlie

A moment of triumph for rock star Charlie soon turns to terror in the snow

- A short story by Travers Curtis

Charlie stood, legs apart, lost in the music, the gig was going well, the audience sang along to the songs they knew, and received the songs they didn't know well.

His fingers flew over the strings of his guitar, Jessica's voice rang clear over the voices of the crowd, the entire group were enjoying themselves... then it was time, Charlie caught Jessica's eye and she nodded, the band took the signal, and as one they stopped playing.

The silence had reached almost deafening proportions, when the stage went dark, the audience moved restlessly, unsure what was happening...

Then a woman's voice rang out, accompanied by a solo piano. A lone spotlight lit Jessica, dressed in a flowing white gown, which fluttered in an unfelt breeze, her voice sounded lost, as it filled the it sought to fill the void left by the silence.

As the last word faded, a male voice, deep and echoing, sending shivers down the backs of the crowd, many turned to see the source of the voice, highlighted in a pale green spotlight stood Charlie.

The two sang seemingly different songs, each complementing the other, but slowly, inevitably, coming together, the audience were held spellbound as Charlie slowly walked down the aisle of the auditorium, towards Jessica. Eventually, as the songs became one, until they faced each other, the last few lines of the song faded, and then the two spotlights vanished, leaving the same impenetrable darkness which had started the song.

The crowd held its breath, a mixture of puzzlement and confusion, the stage dark and silent...just as the audience felt that the show was over, the stage erupted in light and sound as the band launched in to its last number.