The Final Curtain Call перевод Выход под занавес

An obsolete theater with a naphthalene-smelling curtain was living its final days. Backstage, there were always dramas playing, which were anything but comical, where everyone was fighting for the main role. Thick curtains covering the windows did not let through a single ray of light. Onstage, one and the same piece was playing over and over again with the same old dramatic plot. The audience never left the walls of the theater before, since it has been caught in the heavy emotion of the plays. Now however, many have gotten fed up by the boring monotony and started to search for the exit one by one. But every door leading out of the building was painted to fit the color of the walls, which made them hardly visible in dim lighting. Furthermore, everyone got used to looking at just one source of light - unnaturally bright spotlights. That way, most of the viewers couldn't even distinguish their seat neighbor. And in their minds, the same old record of the heroes' feelings and characters as well as the pieces they viewed, has been playing.

She was sitting in the dressing room, blankly looking in the mirror and recalling the roles she played. And how many of them! Thinking about it, she caught herself in the thought of not even knowing how she got here in the first place. The only memories that were coming up entirely consisted of masks, wigs, costumes, grime and snippets of the script replicas. But all of it is just roles, roles, roles... But where was hear real self? Even at the moment of looking at her reflection, she merely saw the image of some deathly woman wearing a black wig and a burgundy-red dress with a languid way of looking through her dark veil. The only thing that sparked a smile on her face were memories of moments when her character was supposed to perform a song on stage. And at these moments, it didn't matter what the song was about. The main thing was that her soul could play her own melody through the vibrations of her voice. Oh, these moments were truly magical! Diving into her memories, she didn't notice all the growing confusion around her...

Meanwhile, the last spotlight fired up and turned off. The odeum got covered with opaque darkness. The desperately terrified viewers trampled around their seats, cautiously looking at their neighbors. Some of the people from the edge rows decided to look for the exit by feel, with their hands stretched forward. The theater troupe was confused. But instead of trying to leave the building, the members greedily grabbed anything that touched the hand: costumes, decorations, scene props - everything ended up in their hands. Some of the more aware troupe members went up a narrow stairway leading up to the top floor, in order to find the director. But they found their cabinets to be empty. The doors were wide open. All they could find were some old marionette dolls with ragged ropes. The actors who forgot about everything except their roles, began to throw sequences of hateful character replicas at each other. However, the emission of such saturated emotions made some actors cry, cry real human tears, washing out currents of fear, uncertainties and desperations from the depths of the soul. It was just like a child crying, that got locked in a dark closet...

When all of the theater lights went off and her reflection faded off into darkness, she suddenly stood up, as if she had awaken from a long dream, and confidently pulled open the window curtains. A dense cloud of perennial dust got lit up by a bright dawn beam, which slashed all the darkness of the old dressing room with its golden sword. By reflecting off the mirror, it brought life to the small room. As she opened the window, a flow of fresh air with the scent of spring flowers and the sound of singing birds filled the soul with the energy of freedom and joy. Now she knew what to do. Now she felt alive, gathering her strength in free breath. Courageously walking towards the exit, she caught a glimpse at the mirror. Whom she saw was a snow-white shining angel. Her wings were once again full with the power of flight, freedom, and inspiration. Her golden hair framed her ever-young and beautiful face. Divine love was irradiating from her eyes. And all of it was great and eternal power, which could no longer be hidden by any make-up and mask. Moving through narrow corridors, approaching the stage, she literally soared. She wasn't at all confused by the dark anymore. The dark where the whole theater plunged. For she herself was the light, and carried it inside, illuminating the path for those who were ready to follow her. Some of her colleagues got themselves trapped in their own play and preparation so much, that without even giving it a second of thought, they shied away from the light as if it annoyed them. Others, glancing apprehensively either at the overplayed actors, or at her, stood in indecision against the wall. But there were ones who found the light inside themselves as they faced it. The newly awakened angels now carried the main role, which was the goal of their entire lives: get on stage and bring light into the audience. Sing their grand song to free the viewers' souls with its magic melody. Carrying the lead of all the awaken angels and star-shining wanderers, she walked up to the center of the stage. For the first few seconds, silence reigned the room, which was followed by even more amplified confusion. The angelic shine illuminated every single face, and all of them were covered by grime of fear and hatred. Not hearing each other or even themselves, they started to move towards what they assumed to be the exit with greater stubbornness, pushing each other around and swearing. And during all that time, the angels stayed on-stage and looked at the ongoing with love and deep compassion. Oh yeah, this divine break of act was truly great. It allowed to draw the viewer's attention to something entirely new, extraordinary, and yet unseen!

A couple minutes later, many started to see the true face of this fight, and as they calmed down, turned their view at the scene again. As time passed, more of the audience began to take over the same behavior and stare at the stage. Finally, when the hall became quiet, even when the tension still had its place, a song started playing. A wave of heavenly chorales swept throughout the room, softly and voluminously touching with their vibration. These sounds then formed into sacral shapes, levitating across the theater and dissolving all dense matter such as the walls and content of the building. Yet with respect to the law of attraction, the theater was gone, and so was everyone who tried to maintain it.

But in the gaze of those who picked up this melody, the whole majesty of the divine world appeared. Bright sunlight gilded the emerald grasses of the valleys and hills. The mighty trees were rustling in the lush canopy consonantly with different singing birds. The animals, having the trust and wisdom of nature, walked up fearlessly to the humans. The rivers were whispering with their crystal-clear waters. The winds carried the fragrance of any possible flower or plant. Crystals of varying forms, colors and their combinations were growing on the ground all over the place. They filled the entire world with the energy of harmony and unity with regard to their individual goals. The light violet sky was filled with bright outlines of near spaces and planets. But the most wonderful miracle only could be seen by those who were standing on stage. Well, the stage, as of its past form, was no longer there, and everyone was just soaring mid-air with their angelic wings. Some of them had visible wings, other ones just floated without. The ones who were previously playing the role of viewers, were now shining with their divine greatness. And everyone was perfect in their own uniqueness. But together their souls were sending out a marvelous symphony, creating worlds. Any mask, role, and personality were thrown away forever and melted under the mighty sun's light shafts, which were now present in every awaken angel's soul, every star traveler. And only the high-pitched voices of their souls unfolded the multidimensional space before them, and it called them to create in light and love.

Перевод: Илья Рачинский; Елена Каплун