“You must close your eyes. Otherwise… you won’t see anything”

-Lewis Carroll


“I never thought you would agree to go to this kind of party” my mother smiled through the standing mirror she had placed in my room years ago. Despite losing the mobility in both legs she was still as bright and optimistic, she was a real princess.

“I’ve always wanted to dress up as Charlie,” I smiled enthusiastically, choosing a pair of glasses, “yesterday I found the perfect costume, I just need the….”

“Oh Mimi” my sister twisted her face when she saw my complete outfit “are you going to dress up as a boy?” she asked disgusted looking at my trousers and wig “the whole point of this party is to dress up to please the boys she muttered throwing my wig in the bin “you know, tight dresses, above the knees…”

“Acebeth!” my mother covered her mouth in disgust at those words “don’t you dare wear underwear to the party” she denied flatly “your father won’t let you out of the house.”

“Mum…”

“No mum,” he cut her off and looked back at me, “why can’t you choose something more demure like Mirana?” she asked placing my wig back on the bed.

“Do you want me to dress like a boy?” she asked in disgust

“Not like a boy” she rolled her eyes tiredly “but you can’t dress in a pair of cloths that don’t cover you” she pursed her lips.

“Boys like it…”

“Boys like it for a night out,” she expressed in disgust, “men marry women who can dress smartly but not show too much.”

“You don’t have to be a nun either, mama.”

“It’s not being a nun,” she prepared to go to the door, “but men don’t want something that everyone can have, they want to have an untouchable woman,” she finished with a wink, “that’s how I got your father.”

“Ew, Mum,” Ace grimaced as he ran to his room, “I’ll see you at the party Mimi!” she shouted from the other side of the house before a door slammed.

...

To say it was crowded would be an understatement, there seemed to be pools of ordinariness flowing through every floor, every corridor. All the girls were dressed as if there was some kind of contest to find out who wore the least clothes and the boys wore jerseys of various rugby players, footballers and others unknown to me.

I walked through gaps in reality until I collided with the vision of eternal darkness; Darth Vader.

“Hi, Charlie,” he mumbled in that creepy voice that elicited some disturbed looks.

It brought a smile to my face.

“Hi, Anakin,” my smile deepened as I saw Sebastian behind the mask, “You’re the first person to guess my disguise”.

“I know” he smiled again, it was the second time he smiled in my presence “Charlie the chocolate factory, right?” he asked taking off his gloves only with his teeth.

“Duh,” I replied, showing off my wig and the glasses I had made myself, “Roald Dahl is the best,” I bit my lower lip as a stream of icy wind blew through the walls and choked my bones, “I wish they’d make a film of the books, what are you doing…?,” I asked, getting completely distracted as he slipped his cape over my shoulders.

“You’ve got goosebumps,” he murmured, concentrating on tying his cloak, “and it makes me uneasy,” he shrugged.

“Thank… thank you,” I stammered.

“It’s the first time I’ve left you speechless, Ira,” he pronounced my favourite nickname with a stunning smile. I always thought ‘Ana’ or ‘Mimi’ were too simple, but ‘Ira’ had a special touch, like an aura of its own “I wish I could do it more often.”

“You’ll have to try harder, Anakin,” I smiled, “I think I’ll call you that from now on,” I laughed, causing him to automatically lower his gaze to my mouth.

“That’s fine with me,” he shrugged.

“Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Your words can be whatever I want them to be,” he recited my words with brilliant accuracy.

“Do you remember from memory what I told you?” I asked, watching as his face moved closer to mine to become more intimate.

“I remember exactly everything you tell me, Ira” he whispered between us provoking a bubble full of intensity capable of stopping time, capable of capturing every single detail and raising it to the nth power, capable of provoking an earthquake inside me with just his look in my eyes, and my lips.

“Seb” my sister’s voice was sharp enough to burst the bubble, “You came!” she swept me off my feet and threw herself into my Anakin’s arms.

“Yes,” he answered, pushing her away from his personal space.

“I’m so glad…” she stretched out the words in a flirtatious air that made my skin crawl like a black feline’s “do you like my costume?” she asked mischievously batting her eyelashes “I’m Madonna” she murmured approaching him again “do you like it?”

He gave her a small glance and then shrugged his shoulders in boredom.

“I don’t know who Madonna is,” he communicated, eliciting a small uncontrollable laugh from me, “but whoever she is, she must catch a lot of colds,” he twisted his face, “you’re wearing very few clothes.”

“This way it’s easier to tak…”

“Look, there’s Jhonan!” I barked as I felt the evil version of me surfacing every time I replayed the scene in my head “you should say hello, out of politeness.”

“Yes” she nodded smiling “see you, Sebas” she bit her lip, running her index finger across his chest as she walked away with a little hop.

My night was already ruined.

“So…” he began to murmur, making me look up while holding my chin, “my nickname?” he grinned, pulling us closer “Anakin?” he asked “has style”

“Yes?” I smiled loving to be the centre of his gaze, loving to see those odd eyes full of dreams “what would be my nickname?” I asked making him visibly uncomfortable.

After a long second of devastating silence his response left me paralysed in the best way.

“Angel,” he whispered with a note of vulnerability embracing his words, “My nickname for you would be ‘Angel’,he concluded with what seemed like….tenderness.

“Why?” I whispered seeking his gaze “Because of my looks?” my insecurity surfaced like a life preserver that ironically was ready to sink me “I know I’m not as pretty as my sister…”

“No, you’re not” he answered only cutting my words “Your sister is too… ordinary” he muttered that last word “she’s not mad, like you” he finished saying, making me smile from ear to ear as I remembered our old conversation, realizing that he had just called me ‘extraordinary’.

In his eyes I was extraordinary

And in my eyes he was my favourite dream, but I wouldn’t tell him. Never.