The Spotlight Always Lies

The crowd screamed her name like it meant something.

Like she meant something.

Thousands of LED wristbands shimmered in unison, casting the arena in pulsing, artificial starlight.

Akari smiled - wide, bright, perfect. Her feet danced the moves through muscle memory. Her lips moved in time with the song she'd sung hundreds of times. Her voice soared and her aura dazzled.

But her thoughts were elsewhere.

Every beat of the track was rehearsed. Every wink. Every skip. Every smile. She'd built this persona from the ground up. A smile sharp enough to cut glass and eyes that sparkled on command.

It's not like the crowd cared for the truth anyway. The crowd wanted the girl on the billboard. The one who was always grateful. Always smiling. Always happy. Always perfect.

Always lying.

"Thank you, Tokyo!" Akari bowed as the cheers rose.

She waved and smiled like she meant it. The lights dimmed. The fans cheered. The staff congratulated. The mask stayed on until the dressing room door closed behind her.

Silence.

-

Her dressing room was empty except for the smell of flowers and hairspray.

Akari's smile promptly disappeared as soon as the door closed. She quickly peeled off her sequined outfit and took the red colored contacts out. She rubbed the glitter from her eyes until her skin stung. Her reflection looked hollow. The fake lashes drooped, and the shimmer clung to the bruised shadows beneath her eyes like ash. She couldn't remember the last time she slept more than four hours.

She couldn't remember the last time she felt anything.

As Akari cleaned the makeup from her face, she noticed in the mirror something on the table behind her.

Another bouquet stood on her dressing room table. She had been receiving bouquets every day for weeks now. As always, white chrysanthemums, wrapped in the same black ribbon. But this time... There was an envelope.

There was never anything else before.

Akari didn't hesitate to open the envelop and read the letter:

You looked tired tonight. I liked it. Reminds me of your real self.

Akari's heart didn't skip. It stopped.

She stared. Read it again. And again. And again.

Her hands grew cold as she gritted her teeth.

Real self? What was that supposed to mean? Did someone see past her mask?

Akari didn't panic though. She simply threw the bouquet in the trash and burnt the card.

She didn't know who was messing with her, but deep down she was sure of something. Something had slipped through the cracks. And it was watching her from the shadows, waiting for an opportunity.

-

The doorbell rang. Four times. Violent. Fast. Angry.

Akari groaned awake. Glancing at the clock that read 4:17am.

She dragged herself to the front door camera of her apartment.

There was no one there.

"I'm not falling for any tricks tonight..." Akari yawned as she crawled back into bed. Her limbs felt like lead as she curled up, pulling the covers over her head like a shield.

-

When morning arose, Akari checked the front camera again. Still nothing.

She cautiously opened the front door, leaving the chain lock on. She peered out the crack of the door.

Nothing.

Until she looked down and finally saw at her feet.

There it was.

A bouquet of white chrysanthemums, wrapped in the same black ribbon as always.

Akari snatched the flowers up into her apartment, slammed the door, locking it behind her.

There was another envelope.

She opened it to reveal a picture - old, creased, and unmistakable.

It was a picture of her family. Back when her hair was still black and her eyes blue, her mother was still around, and her father wasn't a useless drunk.

There was no card or writing on the picture.

The message was plain and simple.

Whoever this was, they knew who Akari really was.

Not only did they know who she was. They know where she lived. They know her schedule.

Akari bit her lip as she thought. I need to find out who this is before anyone else finds out...

She'd buried that past under years of bleach, training, and forced smiles. Reinvented herself from the ashes. She became Akari Ito, the woman the world adored.

She wasn't going to let someone ruin this for her now. Not after everything she's had to endure.

-

For the first time in months she had time off, but Akari couldn't sleep that night. The flowers sat in the trash, stems broken, black ribbon folded neatly on her table. She hadn't thrown that part away. She couldn't. Something about the way it was tied - careful, almost elegant - gnawed at her. This wasn't some weird prank. This was personal.

Who could've still had that photo?

Her fingers flew across her phone screen. Password. Folder. Security feed.

She skimmed through the footage from the night before - 3:58am... 4:00am... 4:13am...

Nothing.

Then at 4:15am, the timestamp jumped.

The screen went black.

She blinked. Rewound. Played it again.

A glitch?

Or someone who knew how to avoid the camera?

At least she figured out something. This person not only knew who she was and where she lived. But this person was here last night. They didn't send someone else. They came here themselves to deliver their message, otherwise there would be no need to tamper with her cameras.

Akari smirked to herself. As creepy as this was, she couldn't help but feel excited. Too much time had passed since she felt something. "I'll find you just as you've found me."