Source of image: gencraft
Anastasia woke up feeling exhausted. She didn’t get a good night sleep. She looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn’t believe how fat she had become. She blamed her stress for this. Because whenever she stressed too much, only food made her feel better.
“I can’t lose all of this weight, now what am I going to do? I only have one month to get ready for this dance competition!” Anastasia thought.
She neglected her weight for so long, and now she didn’t know how to be in shape. People at school made fun of her and that made going to school very difficult.
Anastasia was putting her make up when her mother shouted from downstairs, “Anastasia, there is a package for you, come down!”
“Yes, mom. I’ll be down in just a minute,” Anastasia shouted back, and got her backpack and raced downstairs. A few days ago, her friend Annabel told her about a website that sells masks. She ordered one and it has just arrived. She wanted to use it for the dance competition so no one recognizes her.
“So, what did you order?” her mom asked, curious.
“Nothing, just a bunch of pens and pencils and stuff like that for school,” Anastasia lied because she didn’t want her mother to know she was preparing for a dance competition. Her mother expected her to become a doctor and wanted her to focus only on her studies.
She put the package inside her backpack and went to school. When she arrived, she went straight to the bathroom, somewhere to be alone to open the package.
She opened the package and realized there has been a mistake. The mask was an old ugly mask which was not suitable to wear on the dance competition. The mask was made out of wood and there were some strange symbols on it. There was also a note in the package that said:
“Don’t wash with water, or you will be very sorry!”
Anastasia put the mask in her backpack and called the website to tell them they sent her the wrong mask. But no one answered her calls or messages. So, she went to class. All the while, she only thought about that mask.
After class, she once again went to the bathroom to try the mask on. The wooden mask felt heavy in her hands, but as soon as she put it on her face, it melted into her skin just like a cream.
She felt invincible, and she had a strong urge to dance. She raced to the school’s theater hall and started to dance. There was no one there. She was alone and the lights were off. But she danced and danced and felt alive. When she was out of breath, she stopped for a moment, and she heard someone is clapping for her in the dark. It was Mr. Jenkins, one of the judges of the dance competition. He knew her. Liza, her frenemy, was also there watching her with jealous eyes.
“Since when you dance!” Liza said sarcastically.
“I was just crossing the hall when I saw you! I didn’t know you could dance so well, Anastasia! You must participate in our upcoming dance competition!” Mr. Jenkins said, impressed.
“I intend to, but I know everyone will make fun of me because of my weight!” Anastasia said, upset, and ignored Liza.
“I think you should do it, because there is a good chance you could actually win!” Mr. Jenkins said, excited to have discovered a prodigy, “I will help you to lose weight. You are not that fat. You can easily get in shape in one month.”
Anastasia said thank you and accepted his help. This made Liza furious, because she was one of the top dancers at their school, and she didn’t want anyone else to be victorious. She wanted everything for herself. She went to the bathroom to take off the mask. The mask was glued to her skin and when she took it off with effort, it turned into its original shape, which was an old wooden mask.
“This mask has so much power. More power than I can handle. But, it can make me dance beautifully!” Anastasia said, happily.
Anastasia put the mask inside her backpack and headed home. She didn’t tell her mom about it. She wouldn’t have believed it anyway.
Every day for one month, she wore the mask and practiced and danced in preparation for the competition. She lost a lot of weight, and her mother noticed she was getting thinner. She thought she was exercising, which she encouraged.
Anastasia was heading back home when she got a text message from Annabel.
“I’m going to a party. It’s at Liza’s house. Are you coming?”
Anastasia didn’t like to go to Liza’s house because she knew she didn’t like her. Now more because she lost a lot of weight, and she was her competitor at the dance competition. But, she knew her crush John would be there and if she goes, she will get to see him.
“I’ll have to ask my mom. If she says yes, I will come,” Anastasia texted back.
Anastasia called her mother and she said yes only on the condition that she gets back home by 9 p.m.
The mask was in Anastasia’s backpack, and she put it on before entering Liza’s house. She wanted to feel and look confident and poised.
“Hey, you made it to the party!” Liza saw her and came straight to welcome her. She was laughing and having fun. John was standing beside Liza and said, “You look good, Annie. Different but good!”
“Thank you! “Anastasia said, “She still needs to lose more weight to look skinny!” Liza said, proudly because she was skinny herself, and didn't have much respect for anyone who wasn't.
There was a pool inside Liza’s house and boys and girls were having fun in it.
“Come on in. Let’s have fun, Annie,” John said with a grin on his face. He jumped in the pool and asked Anastasia to jump as well.
“No, thanks. I’m good!” Anastasia said, knowing that she is wearing the mask and no drop of water must touch it. She felt nervous and wanted to leave the party when one of the boys pushed her, and she fell into the pool.
The mask, which was glued invisibly to her skin, came off and floated on the water. It lost all its magic, and turned into its original state.
“How this ugly mask suddenly appeared here?!” John took the mask and looked at it, annoyed and surprised.
Anastasia didn’t show any reaction, and watched the events unfold before her eyes.
“Give it to me! I want to throw it away in the garbage! This shouldn’t be in my house!” Liza said, disgusted by the mask.
John threw the mask at Liza, and she caught it in midair, and threw it in the garbage.
Anastasia played a bit in the pool with John and without anyone noticing her, went to look for the mask in the garbage, and she finally found it. She tried to put it on but the mask wouldn’t glue to her face anymore. It was now useless.
“What am I going to do now? How will I dance without the mask?” Anastasia thought.
The next day, Anastasia woke up with a bad headache because the night before she searched all over the internet to find that website, but she found nothing.
The competition was starting at 5 p.m. and she needed to be there. The mask helped her a lot, but now it was gone for good. Now, she needed to rely on herself only to win the competition.
“Just dance and forget anyone is watching! Just do it!” Anastasia whispered before going on stage, comforting herself.
She went for it and tried her best, without any masks. She danced beautifully and when the judges announced the winners, she was surprised to be among them. Liza came first and she came in third place. She was happy, and she knew this was only the beginning. She had her whole life to pursue dancing.
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Creative and original story that elevates the readers’ interest. The remarkable thing is that you carry the engagement through to the hope-filled, inspired conclusion. Lovely to read!
Thank you very much for your thoughtful comment ❤️ 😍
Hi, Anastasia just needed to regain, her self-confidence.
Anastasia finally got to where she wanted to be.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment 🙏 😊