The Living Theater

It was early in the morning. The sun had not risen yet and the usual mist was upon the great chateau of General Simons. You could not see where the smooth hills and the never ending green sea began, nor the sandy road with its new purple color. The pink trees in the august garden were bowed to the earth with wetness. A heavy dew had fallen.

Through the large halls of the vast chateau, a song could be heard, quietly. Its melancholy resonated in the hearts of the servants, who were much pleased to hear their dear child play.

Again and again the red-haired girl would stop impatienty, waiting for the sun to take His place on the hidden sky. Then again her fragile hands would touch the piano, one of Chopin’s masterpieces unveiling the atmosphere.

The girl’s name was Simone, and that day was to be the most important of her entire life. She had her hair combed almost to perfection, with futile fresh flowers decorating it. Her white dress, made of the richest silk, gently wrapped her skin. A big smile lightened her face, her eyes reflecting true innocent happiness.

Everywhere, even on her Great piano, vases of flowers were placed. Simone found that beauty and scent were the best of friends when there were good news to be spoken of.She suddenly rose from the bench and stumbled to the window to see the mighty ball of fire arrive.

“Finally!” she shouted, then covered her mouth with her hands. The sun and she were the only ones awake.

She started pacing around the room in excitement and nervousness when the face reflected in the silver mirror that hang over her dressing table caught her attention. Coming closer, she started examining it.

With her breathtaking cloudless sky blue eyes and flaming red hair, her beauty was quite adored among the high classed. They marched proudly on the streets in her company, invited her to the theater regularly, and found dinner without her a bore. They enjoyed looking at her, or rather seeing a reflection of themselves in her. As long as she was with them, they were beautiful too.

But Simone did not think highly of her attractiveness. Actually, she was quite oblivious of it. As she was watching herself in the mirror, she wished she wasn’t so pale. That her hair wasn’t so noticeable. She inherited all of her appearance from her father, nothing from her mother.

She was interrupted when a maid knocked on the door to announce that it was time for brunch. The guests were here. She could not believe that it was time for her big announcement.

She ran and jumped like a little girl down the heavy oak stairs lined with an exquisite red carpet, but stopped before going down the last flight of stairs. She was facing the great hall, most importantly the guests. She had to behave like the well-natured young woman that she was raised up to be.

At the bottom of the stairs stood the respectable Isaac Delahaye, his aristocratic wife and little daughter.

Her uncle Luuk and his wife were also there, as was her mother’s friend, Sophie Van Dijk and her husband.

After everyone was greeted properly, they were led into the dining room. It was perhaps the biggest room in the chateau. Its signature was a marvelous crystal chandelier that hang over the dining table.

Even though the atmosphere was chaotic with laughter and maids running around to deliver the brunch in time, Simone felt that something was missing. She was still in the grand hall. And the second she remembered, a mellow voice came from behind her.

“Is it possible that you were waiting for me to join you?” Ariën laughted, lighting up his cigarette.

Ariën was Simone’s older brother. He was a modest but clever man, with a fierce love for solitude.

“You know you’re not allowed to smoke in here, or nowhere for that fact”, she said, pointing at his cigarette case. “Where are you going dressed like that? You’re not coming to brunch? Again?!” Simone chuckled. She was never the one to stop him from doing anything.

Ariën saluted her goodbye with his hat. The butler gave him his stick. She watched him vanish under the mist, the butler closing the door behind him.

Simone gently passed into the dining room, wanting to remain unobserved. She hadn’t forgotten about her announcement.

“Late you are, as usual, Simone!” cried her mother, making a hand gesture towards her.

She looked at her father, who did not even seem to acknowledge her presence. He was too occupied with his guests, particularly Isaac Delahaye.

After inventing a good enough excuse, she unsurely noticed how everyone was seated. Her father and mother were on the two different extremes of the table.

At her mother’s side were Sophie Van Dijk and Uncle Luuk with their spouses. They were having a great time from what it appeared, for The Van Dijks were wonderful people with a good-nature and good temper. As for Uncle Luuk, Simone did not like him. She thought he was extravagantly inconsiderate.

Next to her father’s right stood Isaac Delahaye, then his wife, Irene. Opposite of Irene stood their little daughter, Anna. Simone moved slowly towards her seat, which was always at her father’s left.

Carefully, she put her hands upon the chair, looked around at every happy guest and then unknowingly turned her head onwards. She lightly blushed when she discovered that Sir Delahaye was watching her.

He rose from his seat and half smiling, held out his hand for hers. Simone cautiously put her hand in his.

“My apologies for being ill-mannered, my Lady.” he said after kissing her hand.

Simone hadn’t seen him in a long time, it seemed, for he had change in a way she couldn’t explain. His eyes, black and glowy, were now clear. His hair, with the exception of a persistent wild strand, was combed straight back. He appeared to be taller than she remembered. But something remained the same. His pure presence kept on fascinating, or rather intimidating everyone around him, even General Simons. It was something akin to sorcery, and Simone felt lost for words.

“We were talking about poor Meyer, dear.” yelled Lady Van Dijk, nodding to her across the table. “You know him, don’t you? Do you really think he is going to marry that young girl?”

Simone withdrew her hand from Isaac’s and smiled softly at him.

“I believe they both have made up their minds, and he is going to propose to her soon, Lady Van Dijk”

“How dreadful!” burst out Lady Luuk. “Someone should do something to stop this!”

“Now, I’ve heard that her father owns a store. An American dry-goods store.” said the animated Sir Van Dijk.

Lady Luuk looked bewildered “American dry-goods? What are American dry-goods?”

“American books.” answered Sir Delahaye, carelessly reading the label of one of the wine bottles.

“Oh, don’t mind him.” said Lady Delahaye. “He never means anything that he says.”

Simone was visibly uncomfortable throughout the conversation. Sir Meyer, a relatively old and rich landlord, was to marry the humble Amanda Somerville, one of her dear friends. There was much gossip about the two of them, particularly because of their difference in age and status. All the family acquaintances wanted to acquire more, and Simone, knowing both closely, fell under their idle talk.

So there she sat, weary and uninterested, when she suddenly remembered why she had been waiting for so long for this gathering.

“My announcement!” she whispered.

“Father!” she said, but the excitement in her voice soon died when, for the first time, she saw his red face. He had had plenty to drink with Sir Delahaye. And so did everyone else at the table, except little Anna and her.

“What was that, my dear?” her father uttered in a low voice.

“I have an announcement to make.” she muttered the word “announcement” which she had repeated so many times in her mind that it had changed its meaning, “It’s very good news.”

General Simons hit the table with his fist, as if to make everyone silent.

“What is it?” he asked bluntly.

All of a sudden, she had forgotten what she was supposed to say. She was now the center of attention.

“Well…” she tried to find the right words that would suit the delayed moment, “I finally… got the leading role in a play at the Van der Loo theater and..”

At this her father laughed scornfully, “My daughter, an actress!”, he cried, “My Lord, Lady Van Dijk, I knew she was spending too much time with you!”

Lady Van Dijk threw a napkin at him, and everybody started laughing again.

Simone remained there, petrified. She was shocked by her father’s boorish manners. She felt utterly disappointed, humiliated, and most importantly, hated the man that now laughed so heartily with her father.

Her biggest nightmare had come true.

She bitterly stood up from her seat, gave out a sigh, and began walking towards the door of the dinning room. Nobody seemed to acknowledge her leave, except Isaac. She caught a glimpse of him watching her, his face grave and sincere. She did not know why, but in that moment she felt her chest ache.

Soon, Simone was in the great hall, away from everyone. Tears filled the back of her eyes, but she held them all inside.

As she was going up the stairs, she wondered how she had gathered all that hope to believe that her father would be proud of her, even though he firmly disapproved of “court jesters”. She was now ashamed of her childlike enthusiasm and impetous ideas.

Once inside the room, she got hold of the door and slammed it so passionately, the flower vases quaked. Then she turned around to get a glimpse of her precious little room. It was her shelter and refuge, a reflection of her mind.

To the right, a marvellous bed with two silver banisters at each head took up much space. It had its own curtains, made of cotton, and a lamp that hung from the ceiling.

Paintings and sketches were exhibited on every wall, prominently Amsterdam impressionism artworks, which Simone was inspired by the most.

A small but refined dressing table was placed on a black fur carpet, adjacent to a cream colored french window, which offered a view of the garden.

Perhaps the most mesmerizing of all was the bay window, which gave access to a soothing luminosity. Besides it serving as an entry into a tiny balcony, it was the place Simone relished to draw in, for the view and light it offered assisted to her imagination.

She was sitting on the solf round chair next to the dressing table, imagining a different scenario to the previous events, when she heard a weak knock on the door.

Her quick imagination inexplicably assumed it was that awful lordship that had contributed in humiliating her earlier. But then a sweet child voice spoke from behind.

“May I come in?” Anna said.

Simone enjoyed Anna’s company, for she was smart for her age of six and she, too, loved to draw. Anna told Simone how her father encouraged her passion however he could, buying her all the supplies that she needed. How she, like her father, adored the theater.

And before the end, when it was time for everyone to go home, the two girls had formed a strong bond.