Chapter 17: Serenade

*** An Old Story ***

Long, long ago, in a kingdom beyond the mountains…

There was a green and fertile valley, where a people trapped in an inevitable cycle had settled.

Every day, the sun rose and set, but the clock didn't advance. The seasons didn't change, and the inhabitants of the valley lived in an eternal present.

There were no wars, for everyone shared common values. Diseases were unknown, and death was an alien concept. They ate to satisfy their thirst for leisure, not out of necessity.

A happy people, but stagnant. A people who had forgotten the passage of time.

Isolated from all evils by those snowy and impregnable mountains, it was what in other places they called the promised land.

A young man, one day, found a strange woman on the shores of the beach. Her features were finer, her skin paler, and her eyes had a strange brown color that contrasted with his own.

“Are you alright?” asked the young man, approaching the woman.

"Where am I?” she replied, with a soft but firm voice.

"Well, at the beach, where else?”

Where else... could she be.

*** A New Story ***

“Seriously, we don't need to stay,” Roger's concern was justified.

“I'm fine,” Elynne's eyes were wide open, the red color had completely disappeared, and her breathing had returned to normal. “I haven't felt like this since... since I arrived here.”

“Ah... what a strange comment, but if you're fine we can watch the movie. They're still showing the ads.”

“It really is impressive: you pay a fortune, buy tons of popcorn and drinks, and then they make you wait for the ads to finish before watching it,” said Elynne, with a smile. “They're greedy. Or aren't they, Roger? What do you think?”

“Yes, yes, they could provide better service. Although a pet store worker's salary is enough to pay for a movie ticket and snacks, it's not enough for rent.”

“Oh, how funny you are. You know? I like that you're like that, so... so... how should I put it? So... realistic.”

“Re-realistic?” Roger regained his nerves, but... “Ah, yes... do you feel that? That sea smell? It's about to start. This solid hologram technology is impressive... Ahm... Did you know the name is pure marketing? You can't touch it, only feel certain textures. But the environmental effects are great, aren't they?”

“Hee, hee. It's not the first time I've been to the movies.”

Never in her life had Elynne acted this way; you could say it was even a version of herself she didn't know... that would have disgusted her...

“Ah, yes, of course, sorry,” his little experience with women gave him away. “But it's just... I don't know—”

“Don't apologize, let's just watch the movie,” said Elynne, grabbing his arm and settling on his shoulder. “We're here for that, aren't we?”

Elynne looked into his eyes, with such a sweet face, that Roger's brain simply melted.

“Y-y-yes, of c-c-course,” he stammered.

A cinema in a basement... It's one of those crazy ideas that for some reason work. There weren't seats as such, but cushioned wooden benches, and the projections were holograms that floated in the air. The appeal was in the entire sensory experience, which included smells, sounds and even sensations of heat or cold.

Couples loved this experience...

“Disguuusting. Ha, ha, ha,” Elynne heard a sarcastic voice in her left ear. “What's wrong with you, Elynne? Have you become a romantic? That pill seems to work wonderfully. Are you more relaxed? Happier? More... in love?”

The reaction to Thea's mockery was instantaneous, and she couldn't help but laugh.

“Oh, Roger!” Elynne took advantage of that reaction to play with the boy. “You know? I think I like being like this with you.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, really. I like being here, watching a movie, enjoying the company.”

No matter how much she wanted to, Elynne couldn't help feeling happy. She had a certain level of control over her body, but not over her emotions. Nothing that made Elynne who she was was present in her mind.

“Suppression of will, suppression of personality...” said Thea, with a mocking tone. “It's only temporary, Elynne. What faces will you make when you wake up from the illusion? Remember: every five minutes adjust the earpiece, we don't want your boyfriend to notice anything.”

She only obeyed orders, such as, for example, never responding verbally to Thea or being affectionate and seductive with Roger. Those were two of the three limitations that Thea imposed on her, and that Elynne accepted without question.

“It's sad that you only do things well when you're drugged, Elynne,” Thea was aware that her daughter would remember everything she had done. “There will be three opportunities to shoot.”

Stolen novel; please report.

There were certain factors to consider for committing the murder. First, they needed a strong distraction; the best ones were during musical numbers, when people are mesmerized watching the screen...

“Keep your hand inside the bag, that will help hide the trace, but for safety, we have to take advantage of the cinema effects. The first will be at the end of the first act, when the protagonists spend the night in the lighthouse. Who would have thought to put that in a romance movie? Only someone very twisted. In any case, the smell of gunpowder is better hidden with the fragrance of fish.

“The key moment will be the dance on the pier. When she sinks into the water, there will be an instant of silence... and then the orchestra will burst into a thunderous roar of high notes.”

With the confidence of someone plotting a perfect plan, Thea reminded Elynne of every point of the plan, making sure her drug-addled brain wouldn't forget anything.

“Gumi will pass near you when the moment approaches, she'll give you the signal... She'll ask for the tickets, it will be a good distraction for your boyfriend. Perfect for firing the weapon. Understood? Dance on the beach by the lighthouse and Gumi requesting the tickets. Let that be engraved well in your head, Elynne.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Elynne replied, completely forgetting that she was talking to her mother.

“Excuse me?” asked Roger, who had heard the response. “What did you say?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing,” she replied nervously. “I was just talking to myself.”

“O-okay... Hey, you're very weird today.”

On the other side of the line, Thea laughed.

“What a useless daughter I have,” she thought, “Not even with her life at stake is she capable of doing what I ask her well.”

Regardless of Thea's deranged idea, Elynne was enjoying the movie... considering she was under the effects of a drug.

An interesting movie, where the sensory properties of solid hologram technology shone. It's what they call a technical demonstration. Although holograms had been on the market for years, few had really exploited their potential, even after more than a decade.

It was evocative, that is, Elynne breathed the ocean air, felt the warmth of the sun. Despite the beach being less than twenty kilometers away, she didn't know the sea. Anesse is a city that consumes you, and doesn't let you enjoy nature. It's the complexity of living on floating islands. You're born in a birdcage.

That's why holographic projection cinema was so popular.

Right now Elynne was living an experience she had never had. It was even existential, since she didn't know if these smells, the sounds of seagulls and waves, or the texture of sand... were the same as reality.

For someone who isn't aware of what the world is like outside of Anesse, cinema was the opportunity to live stories and places she otherwise couldn't.

It's the reason she stopped going to the movies...

She accepted years ago the destiny that awaited her, and that she couldn't change. There was no point in continuing to dream of a world she would never know.

Can she allow herself to dream?

“Elynne, I know I've asked so many times, but... are you sure you want to do this?” asked Roger, seeing Elynne's face.

“Yes. I'm perfectly fine,” strange words for someone who was crying.

The happiness that Elynne was experiencing had begun to fragment... just twenty minutes from the start of the movie. The effects of that substance shouldn't last so little, since it was made, precisely, to last all day long.

For better or worse, Thea had no way of knowing... and it was fortunate that Roger didn't say anything about it... fortunate...

“Fortune, my lady, to have met her.”

“Fortune is... that someone has rescued me...”

The actors' dialogue was quite melodramatic, and Elynne, even in that state, couldn't help but laugh.

“I would never have come to see this kind of movie,” Roger was also having fun, though more from the cringe it gave him. “It's too cheesy...”

“I like the beach... it feels good to be able to experience it without being there.”

“Maybe you can visit it someday,” said Roger, looking back at the projection. “When all this is over, of course.”

“Yes, I'll have to think carefully about my options,” Elynne felt a little more uneasy. “First I have to look after my sister... and my mother's matter.”

Roger paused for a moment, and then said:

“Was she the cause of your injury? I don't even know why I'm asking...”

“She's a...”

A strong feeling of sadness invaded Roger, and he didn't resist crossing his arm over Elynne's shoulders, hugging her tenderly.

“I'm so sorry. I don't know what to tell you, but I'm here for whatever you need.”

“You can tell he cares about you... What face will he make when you take his life?” it was Thea who interrupted the conversation. “Or maybe he won't care? I have my reasons to believe that.”

Roger couldn't hear anything that came from Thea, but she could hear everything they said.

“It's a good way to spend time, isn't it? Even if it's just as friends...” it was Roger who broke the silence.

“What a nice person...” said Thea sarcastically. “If it's any consolation, Elynne, he just wants to get in your panties.”

“You'd think the effects are synthetic, but I understand it's an exact recording of the filming location,” said Roger admiring the white sand background with stars illuminating the beach.

“Everything in that movie is in such bad taste,” said Thea. “Seriously, who's the director? Ha, ha, ha. Would you believe me if I told you I know him?”

“Musicals aren't really my thing... I prefer psychological thriller,” continued Roger. “The plot is interesting, but dancing and singing your dialogue is a bit weird. Look, there they go again.”

“Hey, I have something in common with your friend, maybe I should take him to bed. The corpse I mean. Does that bother you? I'm sure you'd prefer to give him a burial... Or would you prefer he bury it in you? Yes, that's what you'd want.”

“The protagonist's voice is very beautiful... those high notes give me goosebumps,” said Roger, whose voice was mixing with Elynne's mother's.

“What face are you making, Elynne? What face would you make if you weren't drugged out of your mind? I wonder if you're doubting what you're going to do. Or do you prefer that my daughter dies? Your sister,” in those last words, Thea put a sinister emphasis. “Do you prefer that, Elynne?”

“They're getting closer to the lighthouse. It's enormous... I think I saw it in a magazine. It's giant. It's the one we have on the coasts. A shame it's so difficult to travel to the sea,” Roger's words were sincere and somehow full of hope.

“Not much left, Elynne, not much left. It's almost time for the first attempt... just make sure it's the first and the last. It's better... to finish this quickly.”

The movie's music was an orchestra with folk instruments. The particular scene had a slow rhythm that was building to a crescendo.

The dancers followed the beat to perfection, even the boats in the background and the crackling of torches were synchronized. It was a high-quality production despite the limited budget... the lights reached every corner of the basement and those camera movements that made you feel like you were one more member of the cast.

You could breathe all the magic of cinema in a romance story... in a scene where the protagonist wished his new love wouldn't leave his life... begging her to stop trying to leave.

With graceful steps, the beloved showed him how to move... and he followed her clumsily, but with such an innocent smile that it made the audience tender. Beautiful chemistry between the actors and everyone watching the movie was connected with the characters.

What good acting...

“Excuse me, sir,” said a female voice, which broke the magic of the moment. “Do you have the tickets?”