Story 38/1001

• cast
• bride
• screen

The auditions never scared me. The nitpicking on every part of my body, the sneering, the comments. Those never hurt me.

No. What scared me the most was succeeding. Weird, isn’t it? Why would I go to all those auditions, if not to succeed? Why would I go through the rejections, if not to be cast in a movie? To be on the big screen. Or the small screen, I don’t really mind either.

But, here I am.

My legs are shaking even though I’m sitting down. The phone fell from my numb hands and I’ve been staring at the same spot on the wall for the past hour.

The shock took a moment to set.

When I received the call, I handled it like a pro. Like an actress. I said all the right words, showed them how happy I am, how grateful I am. I reassured them that I am the best choice, and I smiled.

But now I’m here.

Still sitting, still staring at the wall.

I didn’t notice the hand on my thigh. When I finally looked down, there he was, crouching.

“Fiona? Say something. Are you alright? Fiona?”

“I got the part.” I whispered.

He launched himself at me, hugging me with all the weight of his body.

“I knew you’ll get it! It’s the bride role, right?” His puppy-like affection brought me back and I nodded.

“I just knew it. It’s not a coincidence, Fi. I mean, our wedding is in two months and you got the role of a bride. How perfect is this?” He picked me up and hugged me again.

“I am so proud of you.”

His words calmed me down and I smiled, but the shadow in my heart kept growing. His brown eyes looked at me, waiting for me to say something more.

“The filming starts in a month.” I said, apologetically. “I – I didn’t know. I will just turn down the offer.”

The shadow became smaller as I reached for the phone. The weight of expectations slowly lifted, but then I heard his words.

“Let’s just do the wedding earlier. Fi, I am not going to stand between your heart and your career. I will cherish both. We can do both.”

My eyes widened.

In a month I will be married and I’ll start filming a movie. It’s what I always wanted. I always wanted to be his wife, to start a family with him. I always wanted to be an actress.

I always wanted this. The shadow loomed, closing in on my heart. Everyone I know will want to see the movie.

I gulped, hoping he can’t see the fear in my eyes.

“Yes.” I said, smiling.” Yes, let’s do that.”

And just like that, the expectations fell on my shoulders and attached themselves to my back, scarring my skin with their nails.