Theatre

Leaning forward onto the balustrade, Eddus surveyed the nearly empty rows of seats below. Few were those seated, waiting for the lights to dim and the show to begin.

The small theatre house was in no way busy, nor would it be that evening. It was the mid-week show, a musical farce, parodying the story of misconstrued love between various peoples. The play had been written by some famous bard, but the performance itself was little more than a rehearsal put on by a drama troupe studying the thespian arts in a nearby university. An agreement had been made between the theatre owner and the university instructor; the troupe would once a week get onstage experience in a live theatre, while the small house would bring in a profit during the slow time of the week.

Eddus Brandt, a self-employed artist who worked alone and mainly by commission, had rarely missed a Wednesday night show in quite some time. One of only a few liberties he took during the week, the outing got him out of his studio, and more often than not, out of his head for at least a little while. Three of the people behind the now drawn curtain were also well known to him, being as they lived together with him. At their urging, he'd begun attending weekly, and had seen this particular night's performance at least three times before.

Those to be members of the audience trickled in slowly, taking their seats, as Eddus looked on from above. The ability to view them coming into the theatre was a new experience. He'd taken advantage of the midweek show's discounted tickets and purchased a seat in one of three boxes in the house. His position above was to the left of the stage, and it afforded a view of which he'd not had on any of his visits before. He would be able to see the theatre patrons from his position, while they watched the show.

Eddus liked the idea that he could look at people's genuine reactions to what they were seeing on the stage. As small a thing as this may seem, it did excite him, as he might see something that could act as a muse for one of the portrait pieces he often worked on between commissions.

A soft bell chimed, indicating the curtain would soon rise. To his dismay, that night there would probably not be much in the way of inspiration, despite the view his lofty position afforded. The excitement he'd felt at being able to regard those below him dwindled. The crowd was sparse, and the traffic into the theatre had ceased. There were not many persons sitting in the theatre seats, and even fewer that Eddus could actually see. Most had placed themselves along the outer edges or to the back of the theatre. The further one sat from the front, the harder it would be for him to observe them in the dim light given off by the stage during the performance.

Illumination within the theatre began to slowly fade as the globes in the wall lighting were dimmed. In a matter of moments, the activities portrayed on-stage would be the focus of the audience's attention.

As the stage curtain creaked open, the hush that had fallen within the dusk was briefly interrupted as a door at the back of the theatre opened. If at all noticed, it was not reacted to by those seated. Opened only enough for the person on the opposite side to slip in, Eddus watched as they entered, and then disappeared as the door was pulled closed. Vanishing momentarily in the darkness of the back of the theatre, and then reappearing as only a silhouette, it quickly moved down the aisle in the dull glow of the illuminated stage. Stopping five rows from the front, the figure made its way to almost the center of the row and took a seat.

As voices began to ring out in the theatre, a prologue of the recital to come, his eyes adjusted. In the darkened surroundings, Eddus could make out the form and features of the young lady who had entered.

He watched her, passively at first. She was the only patron to have ventured as far forward as she had, and was in a rather perfect place to be observed during the duration of the play. Her hair was pulled back neatly, exposing a youthful face, and permitting Eddus to see any emotion she might display.

Halving his attention, and looking at the young lady only when an actor spoke a line that he recognized to evoke certain responses from the audience, Eddus began watching the play. Having seen the show several times previously, he could predict when a glance in the girl's direction was warranted. He enjoyed watching her as she reacted, not only to the quick-witted lines being doled out by those on the stage, but also to the play in general.

His first impression of her was puzzling. The girl's facial expressions did not mimic those of someone who was enjoying a mid-week show at a small theatre house, having nothing better to do for the evening. Her demeanor suggested something else about the experience. Even the clothing she wore seemed out of place. Although only a simple black, sleeveless dress, her attire did stand out as different in comparison to the others present, as they were clothed mostly in the casual dress of the day.

After some time, he ceased paying attention to the performance altogether, to watch the latecomer with keen interest as she took in the show. Eddus had never witnessed anyone so enthralled with what was basically the amateurish retelling of a famous story. His interest was piqued, whether or not this was to become the subject of an artistic creation. He could not pry his eyes away from the person he looked upon.

Eddus studied the girl in detail. Her reactions did seem slightly off, not in that her reactions were wrong for what she saw. She did have a very expressive face, but there was something else.

So caught up in watching the behavior of the spectator below, Eddus had lost all track of the performance and was startled by the applause of those in the theatre, as small as the crowd was. The lighting onstage brightened, and the performers filed onto the stage.

As the theatre lighting also brightened, Eddus looked from the stage to the fifth row, in time to see the young lady stand, still looking at the stage with a smile on her face. Turning, she quickly made her way back to the isle, the way she'd come in. He watched as she went into the aisle and made her way to the door, disappearing into the exiting crowd.

The evening's events had turned out to be more interesting than anticipated. Eddus was happy with himself for having chosen to switch up his routine and seating arrangement.

Preparing to leave the box, his eye was caught by something below, in the row the young woman had been sitting in. In the seat beside the one in which she'd sat was something he could not clearly see. At first, he thought that perhaps the young woman had left her handbag. Moving as far to the right in the box as he could, and leaning over the balustrade, Eddus saw that the item on the theatre seat was a pair of black shoes.

Waiting for a few moments, he was sure that the girl would realize and return, though after a few minutes, she did not appear as he thought she would. Eddus watched the last of those in the theatre making their way out, then hurriedly made his way down the stairs and through the corridor and entered the audience chamber below. The footwear he found on the seat in the fifth row and quickly made his way into the lobby of the small theatre, then out its doors.

Finding no sign of a black dress or anyone who appeared to be searching for anything, Eddus waited. He moved slowly around the dwindling crowd, watching people getting into their cars or into cabs. Eventually, he was the only one left standing on the pavement in front of the theatre house.

When it was clear that nobody was returning for the items he held, Eddus returned again to the door of the theatre, but found it locked. The only light seen through its glass door came from the doorway to a passage beyond the darkened lobby.

As he began to walk along the pavement, Eddus made up his mind to return the shoes to the theatre in the morning, and hope that he'd not caused too much inconvenience.