Simone looked up the corridor that had always been one of the most welcoming places in the theatre, but at that moment it seemed as though some kind of darkness waited to seize her around every corner.
None of the people she had worked with for the last few years recognised her anymore.
Even the people she had once counted among her friends.
They had all taken the imposter into their confidence.
How had this happened in less than an hour?
Meanwhile, in the wings, Jon stood beside Madeleine watching Karyn dance with the chorus on the stage just a few feet away.
Wait. Had he just thought of her as one of the dancers?
That was not right.
She was still his friend.
She was still Karyn, no matter what had happened that evening.
They had not been in the theatre very long, yet somehow, they had become trapped in this mess. It made him wonder whether getting rid of the stone had been a mistake.
He might have been able to use it to get them out of this.
Madeleine watched the American girl who had spent the last few minutes dancing with the chorus during Le Jardin des Plumes.
If circumstances had been different, she might even have spoken to Henri about offering her a job. Jon had told her that his friend could not dance.
Not the way the chorus could, at any rate.
What was her name again? Karyn, was it? She was showing some talent, even if she was simply copying what the others were doing. She was still managing to keep up.
Back on stage, the steady rhythm that had carried the chorus through the performance began moving towards its conclusion as the orchestra entered the final passages of Topsy.
The dancers no longer travelled across the stage. Instead, the movement had become smaller.
More precise. More deliberate.
The tableau that had been forming throughout the latter part of the routine continued to evolve beneath the stage lights.
Rows shifted. Lines widened and narrowed. Feathers rotated. Dancers made tiny adjustments to their positions. The movement no longer seemed concerned with dance alone. It was creating something. Every performer appeared to know exactly where she belonged.
Karyn no longer had time to think about individual steps. At some point she had stopped consciously copying every movement. Now she was relying on instinct, rhythm, and the performers around her. Somehow she was still where she needed to be.
The formation continued tightening towards the centre of the stage. From the audience it appeared effortless. From inside the formation it felt more like controlled chaos.
Karyn was convinced that at any moment she would trip over her heels, walk into someone, or destroy the entire performance. Yet somehow she never did.
The orchestra drove onward. The chorus flowed through one final series of adjustments. One last crossing movement.
One final turn. Rows curved. Feathers opened. Dancers settled into positions that made little sense from where Karyn was standing. Only when the final adjustment was made did the image become clear. The chorus had become a flower.
Layers of pink feathers formed the petals. Rows of dancers created elegant curves around the outside of the formation. The centre shimmered beneath the stage lights.
The audience immediately recognised the image and began applauding. The entire company froze together. Symmetry. Elegance. Presentation.
For the first time since stepping onto the stage, Karyn stopped moving completely. She hoped she looked as though she knew exactly what she was doing. Just as the applause began to build—
Everything stopped. The orchestra fell silent. The applause vanished. The theatre vanished into silence. Every sound disappeared. The flower remained suspended beneath the lights.
The chorus remained motionless. The audience remained motionless. Even the dust drifting through the beams of light appeared frozen.
“What is happening?” Jon asked.
“Ze world stops,” Madeleine replied rather dramatically.
“What do you mean?” he pressed, looking for a more direct answer.
“It is as it was when you arrived. Everyzing 'as stopped. It will remain like zis for a few minutes, zen everyzing will begin again exactly as it always does. As long as we are ready for ze last one of zese tonight, everyzing will be fine.”
“As long as things...” Jon stopped halfway through his sentence and turned towards the stage. He expected to see Karyn moving towards him. Last time she had been able to move.
Last time she had not frozen like the rest of the theatre. On the stage, however, nothing moved. Jon looked nervously towards the flower-shaped formation. The dancers remained exactly where they had been when the world stopped. Every one of them.
Including Karyn. She stood among them as motionless as the rest of the chorus.
“Madeleine, why is Karyn not moving? She should be able to move as we can. She could last time.”
“What?”
Down the corridor, at the exit leading to the street outside, a figure moved. Simone stood upright and looked around in confusion. Where had all the sound gone? Even this far from the stage she should still have been able to hear the orchestra. She should still have been able to hear the audience. Instead there was nothing. Only silence.
“Qu'est-ce qui se passe ?” (What is happening?)
She looked up at the nearby clock. It was one of many spread throughout the backstage area to ensure that performers knew the time and never missed their cues. At least, that was the theory.
The clock read: 9:05 PM.
For some reason unknown to her, the THÉÂTRE DE LA RUE DES ROSES had gone silent.
