"Untitled"

The floor creaked as she slowly made her way across the old wooden floor boards. Each step had been taken before, and each noise the stage made seem to be the same. Rosaline made her way to the center of the stage, and looked out into the dark auditorium.

An orange shaft of light appeared in the room as an old door creaked open. "You need some help, lady? You lost?" a custodian asked, stepping into the room.

Rosaline just smiled slowly and shook her head. "No, I'm quite alright." The custodian looked at her strangely with a cocked head. "Some light would be nice, though," Rosaline called out to him. Chuckling, the custodian turned to walk out, shaking his head at the crazy old lady. "I asked for some light," Rosaline called out firmly.

Slowly, the custodian turned around, staring at Rosaline. After a brief moment of hesitation, he decided to humor the odd woman, and called out, "What kind of light would you like, ma'am?"

"Just the lights center stage, no colored please, focus them on me, and no spotlight," Rosaline called out crisp and sharp, her voice defying her age.

The custodian, amused with this odd old lady, walked out of the room. A few minutes later, Rosaline heard his voice call out to the auditorium through a staticy system from the lighting booth. "Alright lady, I'll turn on the light for you. Just make sure you don't look into it, okay? It'll hurt your eyes."

"I know what I'm doing, mister," Rosaline responded confidently. She closed her eyes, and soon, the lights surrounded her in a blanket of memories. It brought her back to where she had been sixty years ago.

* * * * * *

She took bow after bow, but the audience just kept on cheering. Rosaline smiled and dipped her head once again. "Thank you very much," she said into the mike in her sweet voice.

A ripple of calls for encore echoed through the room until it united to become one strange chant. "Encore, encore, encore." Tears of sorrow came into her eyes, as she was reminded that it was her last encore on that stage. Her time was up. . . for now.

It was the last showing of the year's school-wide famous "Music Night." It was also the last showing, ever, that Rosaline would be in. She was graduating that year. At the same time, the girl was on top of the world. She had stolen the show, the audience had loved her. For the time being, she owned that near-new wooden stage.

Rosaline was finally brought back to the planet as the calls for an encore became accompanied by a rhythmic stamping. She smiled, and bowed a little. "For my last number," she spoke, "I will sing 'Just Call On Me'. I want to dedicate this song to all my friends, and especially to my boyfriend, Ethan Stoffer." Her voice rang out, and when she was finally done, the audience stood up and cheered once again.

Backstage later that night, Rosaline's night became complete. Her boyfriend showed up unexpectedly. "What are you doing here?" Rosaline asked, spotting him the instant she came out of the dressing room. "I thought you were at work."

"I took off. I couldn't miss the last night of your show." He smiled, and a dozen roses magically appeared from his back. "For you."

Rosaline gasped, taking the beautiful flowers. "It's not just my show, you know. It's everybody's. But thank you. They're beautiful."

"It is your show, you know it. Everybody comes to see you. Don't be modest," Ethan teased. "And you know you love the attention. You deserve it." Rosaline looked at him, and just smiled. "What?" he asked innocently.

"Nothing," Rosaline replied in the same carefree tone. "Nothing at all."

"I have to go back to work, though," Ethan said, checking his watch. "I told the boss I'd be back by eleven so I can help him close up the place. Gotta go." He pecked her on the cheek good-bye, and left.

An hour later, everybody had pretty much gone, and Rosaline was almost alone around the stage area. She walked on to the stage, and ran her hand along the wall and equipment, feeling sad that she would soon be leaving for college, and the place will no longer be hers.

Every inch and space of the area seemed to scream "Rosaline". The dent in the wooden floor where Rosaline had dropped a brick in a humorous musical number she had done. The stain in the carpet of the dressing room where she had broken a bottle of perfume. The carving by the curtains that read, "RD + ES 4-ever". Rosaline Dale and Ethan Stoffer forever. All of it would be cruelly taken away by time.

Suddenly remembering, she walked over to left stage and tiptoed to make herself taller. Her hand groped for the teeny ledge she knew was there, and finally found it. Her fingers felt along the ledge, searching for a long-lost memory. Finally, she made contact with a cool object, and she took it down. A small metal swan that Ethan had given her as a good luck charm. She had hidden it on the ledge to help her first play ever at the school, and afterwards, just never remembered to take it back.

Holding the swan in her hand, she took it down and looked at it. The metal looked shiny and new and caught the barely shining light. She played around with it for a little while, trying to decide whether or not she should pocket it and leave. After a few minutes, she decided to leave it. Leave another mark on her stage.

She tiptoed again to replace the swan to its place on the teeny ledge barely big enough for it. For some reason, something told Rosaline it wasn't complete; the swan was missing something. As if by some mysterious force, Rosaline plucked a petal from the most beautiful rose of the dozen. She placed the petal onto the ledge, and weighed it down with the swan. A remembrance of her first, and last times on the stage.

Rosaline turned around, walked to center stage, and bowed for the last time.

* * * * * *

Rosaline opened her eyes, looking around at the auditorium, and old feeling flooding back into her. "For my last number, I will sing 'Just Call On Me'. I dedicate this song to the memory of my husband, Ethan Stoffer," she announced to nobody, her voice strong and powerful, as if she were performing.

". . . so whenever you need, put your full trust in me. . . " her voice rang out, loud and clear. She sang the song in the same beautiful voice she had sang it in sixty years ago. The song ended and Rosaline bowed deeply. "For my husband, shining down on me from heaven," she added again.

A clapping came from the lighting booth, and the custodian's voice crackled through the system again. "That was good lady. Really, it was."

"Thank you very much," Rosaline said with a big smile. "You can turn off the light now, I'll be leaving." The room darkened once again, and Rosaline heard footsteps grow softer as the custodian walked away.

She turned around, and walked slowly across to left stage. Her foot felt a familiar dent in the floor, and her hand brushed against a rough carving by the curtains. Step by step, she walked over to the wall of the left stage. Reaching up, she groped for the teeny ledge nobody knew about. She couldn't feel anything, and she wondered if they had finally renovated the old place.

Suddenly, she felt a little part of the wall that jutted out, and she ran her hand along it. It came to touch a cool object, and she grasped it with her hand. Taking it down, she saw the swan, as new and shiny looking as before.

Smiling, she rolled it around in her palm, tears sliding down her wrinkled cheeks. She placed the swan in her pocket, and closed her tired eyes. Leaning against the wall, she was about to fall asleep when she felt something light brush against her arm.

Rosaline opened her eyes and saw a single rose petal float down to the ground, landing softly on the ground. She smiled once again, and leaned against the wall.

With her eyes closed, Rosaline fell into an eternal sleep and once again, she saw Ethan.

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thanx!!