VIDEO INSPIRATION
Prompt - Video Inspiration : Go to Vimeo or YouTube and watch one of the videos featured on the home page. Write something based on what you watch.
"Come on wimp, nothing's going to happen." Stephen was starting to get annoyed at Mansar's recalcitrance.
"It'll be OK, if we stick together. Nobody really believes this stuff, do they?". Rachel held out her hand to encourage him to join her. Mansar sighed and moved towards the opening, waving the proffered hand away. He sensed that failure to join them would strain Stephen's tenuous friendship beyond his limited ability for tolerance. They moved into the cave, phone lights providing a bare minimum of help to their progress.
But progress they did, jokily at first, more tensely as they went deeper, the walls became damper, the air colder, and sounds more eerie.
"How much further?" Mansar had put off asking as long as he could.
"Can't be much to go now, eh Steve?" Rachel was beginning to sound less certain.
"Nearly there. Nearly there." The repetition suggested Stephen, the leader of the trio in all matters of adventure, was less cocky now.
But he was proved right shortly after when they followed a curve in the tunnel and suddenly there was light beyond the feeble illumination of their torches. They were in cavern, roughly oval in shape, with a high, high roof reaching up into the hill and open at top. As midday approached the sunlight was falling in a fierce white cone that spotlit the centre of the space, making the granite floor sparkle and casting sharp shadows around the walls. They gasped at the beauty of it, fear forgotten, elated that they had had the courage to enter the mysterious Fairies' Chamber, right when it was said to be at it's most magical. Mansar had to admit it had been worth overcoming his fears.
"What now? Is anything supposed to happen?" Rachel's hopes had surfaced.
"Yeah, the fairies all come out and give us a meal and a few drinks. All we have to do is summon them." Stephen spread his arms out wide, put his head back, and falsettoed a call of enchantment. "Come to us great fairies, and bring forth food and drink for your honoured guests." He giggled at his own bravado, the others tried to join in, but both felt this had been a mistake. They were right.
There was a sudden swelling of the light, and when their eyes had adjusted they saw, at regular intervals all round the oval, small glowing figures, about a metre high, of uncertain and shifting appearance, and blocking their exit. One rose into the air, expanded, and took on the clearer, but still fluid, shape of a woman. She came closer to the terrified teenagers.
"Who summons me thus? What gives you this right?" Her voice was young but authoritative, deep in tone yet light in character. The stunned threesome remained silent. "Well....?", the speech more commanding now.
Rachel was the first to find her ability to reply. Shakily. "We only came out of curiosity, we didn't think you were... well, real like." She regretted her choice of words immediately, but at least she'd spoken.
"I am Mavrola, Queen of the Grafell Fairy Clan. Do you still doubt my existence?" Three heads shook frantically. "Any yet you doubted, and might still convince yourselves you were dreaming once you have left. I will put doubt beyond you." The three looked at one another, hoping to see some spark of understanding in either of the other's faces. When they looked back at Mavrola she was disseminating into a cloud of twinkling lights and moving currents. The cloud moved towards, over, through and around them, leaving behind a tingling from within, a momentary dizziness, and a sense of difference.
The cloud spoke. "For the next twenty four hours you will not be who you seem. Return at midday tomorrow if you wish to be yourselves again." And vanished, along with her cohort of shining accomplices. Once again the only light came from the sun hole above, already past it's high point and shifting focus.
Rachel looked at the others. Except she found she was looking at Mansar and... herself? How could that be? Where was Stephen? She looked at her arm. She was wearing his jacket. Looked down and saw his jeans, his shoes. She felt taller, broader, and her hair was so much shorter.
"Who's pretending to be me?" asked Mansar, more aggressive than she'd ever heard him before. He was looking at her, except that she was a he now and... this was confusing. If she was now in Stephen's body, Stephen must be in Mansar's. Which meant Mansar must be in hers. Was this what the queen meant when she'd said they wouldn't be who they seem?
"I think we better get out of here" she, he, said, and they jogged their way out of the tunnel and the cave entrance.
Outside it was bright and hot, and they looked for the shade of a tree to sit under. Nobody said anything at first, all three trying to figure out what they could do. Mansar was the first to speak, but from Rachel's body.
"We're stuck like this until 12 tomorrow, aren't we?"
"Looks like it", said Rachel, "so how do we get through until then?"
"I'm brown. I've got a wimp's body. This can't be happening. Why us?" The loud complaining tone sounded odd coming from Mansar's body.
"Because you insisted we go in there and see if the legend was true, thinking it wouldn't be. So stop whining and let us think what we're gong to do now." Rachel's sharp mind speaking angrily from Stephen's body was an impressive combination. They all fell silent again. Stephen with head downcast.
Again it was Mansar who spoke. "I was wondering if we could stay out all night, go back in at 12 tomorrow, get changed back, and then go home and say we'd got lost? But I hate that I'd have to miss out on my audition."
"Audition? Oh, you were trying for a part in that play, weren't you? I know you wanted that a lot. And I'm supposed to be on a sort-of date tonight with Sara, how will I ever explain about standing her up?" Stephen's form slumped as Rachel realised just how much she wanted to be with Sara.
"Well never mind that, I've got hockey training at eight, and stand a chance of getting into the squad if I keep on. I don't want to miss out." said Stephen.
"You don't look like much of a hockey player right now" said Rachel, as Mansar, looking at Stephen as herself. She burst out laughing at how ridiculous they all were, and her sudden levity infected the others. It was a horrible situation to be in, but they could see how funny it was too. The laughter helped them to calm down.
"There must be a way to get through this, but we need to help each other. If we spend the afternoon coaching each other on what to expect maybe we can get through this. How about it?" The boys looked at one another, still coming to terms with knowing that the person they were seeing wasn't the person inside, and nodded. Could they get away with it?
Rachel taught Mansar how to be her. He was horrified that he'd miss out on his mother's cooking and have to put up with microwaved meal instead. "That's all my parents ever do" said the girl. "And you need to meet Sara by the chippie. Looks like being a nice evening so go for a walk with her, but don't go trying anything on, you're not a boy, OK?"
"No chance of that. I'm gay too."
Stephen sneered. "No surprise there."
"You're going to have to stop saying things like that. You're me now."
"Oh mansar, that's wonderful. And you'll know what it's like having to bottle things up, like I do. I think my dad is homophobic. But maybe I should come along and make sure it all goes OK. You could..."
"You can't do that!" Stephen jumped up, fists balled. "You need to go along and make sure I don't get dropped."
"But I can't even skate very well. Although I've been to watch a few hockey games, so I suppose I know a bit about it. If I go I'll have to pretend I've twisted my ankle and don't want to risk it tonight."
"That might work. Just apologise and sit and watch. Shout a few things during the practice game. If I tell you who's who you..."
"But what about my audition? Your're going to have to go along and try your best." Mansar gave his Rachel form an ease of movement she didn't know she had in her.
"Me? Play at acting? No way. I'd hate it."
"Then it looks like I won't be going to the rink."
"What? But you have to. I could lose out if you don't."
"And Mansar will definitely miss out if you don't. We all help each other, or this doesn't work, OK?" Rachel as Stephen was an impressive combination of moral and physical authority. Stephen, in the slighter body of Mansar, felt his leadership of the group gone. Perhaps it had never really been there?
They agreed they'd spend the rest of the afternoon telling each other how to be them, go home to where they looked the part, went on each other's evening out, and get back together in the morning in penty time to be in the fairy cavern before noon. And if the queen had lied to them... they'd have to deal with that when it happened.
Another sunny day. They met up at ten thirty and walked together up the hill where the cave entrance was. Nobody seemed to want to talk first, each worried at what their alter ego might have done for their chances. Rachel broke the silence.
"I think it went OK Steve, the coach reckons I've, I mean you've got a good hockey brain."
"Really? How come?" Stephen sounded impressed, but suspiciously added "What did you say to him?"
"I kind of suggested that maybe it would be good one of the defencemen stayed back a bit more because they were getting caught out, and that Cartie could be better on the right as he looked like that backhand flick of his could be more effective there. Coach thought they were good ideas. He said something about not having decided on a captain yet."
"What? Really?" Stephen looked stunned. "That's brilliant. That's... that's... I hadn't really thought like that before but I can see you're right. Maybe next week I'll see if coach'll put Cartie on the right of my line, I can see that working." His, Mansar's, face beamed with the possibilities.
Rachel turned to her self, what she hoped would soon be her reunited self, and looked questioningly at Mansar.
"Sara really liked me. You. Yeah, you. And I can see why you like her. We had a good time, and she's really interested in drama. I told her that I was trying to get into acting, well that mansar was, and she seemed to like the idea. Maybe you should both come along? They really need some smart people backstage. That's if I'm still part of the group." He looked at Stephen with trepidation. "Am I?"
Stephen paused, built the tension a little. "Oh, yeah, you're in. No bother. Looks like you'll be the baddie - what's he called? - Grayling."
"Wow, I didn't think they'd want me for that, it's a big role, on stage a lot. How'd you do it?"
"Just shouted a bit and got angry, then tried to look menacing. The director seemed to like that."
"That's... amazing. Thanks."
"I found myself enjoying it so I did drop in that you had a friend who might look the part for your sidekick - you know, the one that gets to do the fighting. You don't mind, do you?" Even on Mansar's face Stephen's blush was obvious.
"Steve! You? An Aaactor?" Rachel drew out the last word pretentiously, teasing. They all laughed. "Anyone else got a big revelation to make?"
"Well..." Mansar began, sounding far more cheerful than he had ten minutes before, "I was in before your parents so I went round to Patel's shop and got a few things, cooked a meal or them coming home. They loved it. Told them my pal Mansar had taught me." He grinned.
Rachel came over and hugged Mansar. Stephen was surprised how normal it looked to see his own image go up and put his arms around his little Tunisian friend. He joined them and they stood, arms around one another, for a while.
Stephen's night as Mansar had been a surprise. Such a warm loving family, a reminder of distant times when his mother had been alive. He thought he now understood more about why his dad had turned out as he was. The exception had been Lasani, Mansar's older brother, who bullied his sibling at every opportunity. Why had his friend never mentioned it? Lasani was a lot bigger than Mansar, but no more than the equal of Stephen. He might be paying the older boy a visit very soon, and suggest, in his own way, that he lay off his wee brother.
Mansar had, he hoped, reminded Rachel's parents that there was more to life than the rubbish they took from the microwave. He liked the idea that Sara might be joining the drama group. Knowing someone who'd come out to their parents, even if they weren't parents quite like his, might be a help in deciding how he could be himself, openly.
Rachel felt excited that Sara seemed to like her, that Mansar had been such a pal, and that maybe her diet would be improving too. You never knew, did you?
They walked into the cave entrance, each with their own hopes and fears, and got to the cavern. At noon the cloud of lights suddenly coalesced around them, coming from nowhere and returning thence in seconds. Again the slight dizziness, the tingling, the need for the eyes to readjust. Rachel looked a the others, saw Mansar and Stephen. They looked as relieved as she felt. Each was back in their own shoes, but none were the same as the people who'd come in there yesterday. The trio linked arms and walked back towards the sunlight.
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