Getting ready for sin
1013 Words
*Tala*
"Oh, Halyn, seriously?" I groan as I gaze at my reflection in the mirror, trying to process what my eyes see. "You can't be serious."
Today is the day I have been dreading all week, and we are getting ready in Halyn's room. I look down at my attire. She has squeezed me into skin-tight leather pants, a form-fitting black shirt with a daring low cut that reveals the lace of my cherished black bra, and on top of it all, a black corset with blood red trimmings. The corset is so tight that my usual soft figure now boasts a remarkably slim waist and a perfectly flat stomach.
"It's perfect, now change out of those clothes and come to the beauty chair," she dismisses my protests, helping me out of the corset. "If you weren't my best friend, Tala, I would take offense at your criticism of my incredible designs. Every woman at the club is dying to wear my creations. By the way, the corset is a unique piece, made from expensive materials, so please be careful with it," she adds with a smile.
"I'm almost afraid to wear it now. Can't I just wear a normal, floor-length dress?" I plead, my hope showing through.
"You have got to be kidding me," she huffs. "Half the fun is dressing you up in my finest before taking you to a ball in the basement of sin."
"Basement of sin?" I must look like a frightened mouse, "But... but you said no S&M and all that."
Halyn giggles, "Sorry, I can't resist teasing you. You really need to let go of those stereotypical prejudices about goths."
"That's not fair, you know how nervous I am. It's my first time going to a club. If you want me to wear that outfit in public, you better start buttering me up or I might lose my courage," I mumble.
"Okay," Halyn says cheerfully. "How many times have I told you about my nights at Nosferatu?"
"Well, every Sunday and sometimes on Mondays too," I reply.
"And have I ever told you about anything dangerous? Or sinful things? I mean, things that don't involve consenting adults," she teases with a grin.
I probably still look worried, and she continues more seriously, "Look, everything that happens at Nosferatu happens at any other club. We just have less mainstream culture and flashy strobe lights, and much more depth. You know... the important things in life."
"So, if you wear more than two colors together, does that mean you are blissfully ignorant of how tough and unfair life can be?" I say sarcastically.
"No, not necessarily. But is it better to be drugged up every weekend, worshiping wannabe celebrities and their fake bling?" Halyn makes a disgusted face.
"Who's the one with stereotypical prejudices now?" I giggle and shake my head.
Halyn puts on her philosophical expression, "No, seriously, goth is not just a style, it's a way of life, a way of thinking. I have always despised those mundane mainstream things. People's obsession with success and money, the rampant consumerism... It makes me sick. They never pause to appreciate the beauty around them... it can vanish in an instant," she snaps her fingers in front of me, making me jump slightly, "If that makes me a freak, then so be it. I see myself as a realist. In Nosferatu, I have found people who share the same perspective on life and death as me. We can be our true selves there, without judgment."
"I just think some of the music is a bit … too positive towards death. That it is supposedly romantic to die together and such… isn't it a bit unhealthy?" I ask.
"Is there anything more romantic than Romeo and Juliet? To love each other with such passion that you rather die than be without the other," She looks dreaming for a moment, "But remember, just because we talk about it and are drawn to the darkness, it doesn't mean that we want to die. Death is a reminder of how fragile life is, to live Your life while you can. Carpe diem and all that."
I usually only use a bit of mascara, but Halyn gave me the whole goth femme fatale makeover, she even takes care of my eyebrows with a scalpel, which makes me just a bit nervous.
"Oh my eyes don't look like little pigs eyes anymore," I gasp as I see myself in the mirror after Halyn is done.
"Okay all this," Halyn says theatratrically making a circling motion towards my face, "Which is f*****g perfect, and you are comparing that to a pig."
I shake my head, studying the stranger in the mirror, "No, that's what I am saying, it looks like someone else. I am almost pretty."
"Almost." Halyn huffs, "You have always been pretty, you just tend to hide it. I keep telling you."
"I guess you do," I mumble shyly. And the truth is she does do that quite often.
"And now le grand finale," Halyn finds a short black wig with red streaks and a pair of scarily high stilettos. She puts my own hair up with bobby pins and pulls a nylon stocking over it, "It is totally forbidden to come with a natural hair color, even one that looks like the wings of a raven."
She gets me back in the clothes and puts a bowler hat on my head. I have to admit it looks rather good now with the whole look put together. Halyn points on the floor, "Let me see you walk."
"This will never work," I sigh, after having tried to walk. I am not used to heels and I am wobbling around, scared I might break an ankle.
Halyn pulls out another pair, "These are not as high, not as perfect as the others, but better than waddling like a duck."
I put them on, trying them out, "So my sneakers are out of the question?" I ask, getting a glare back, "Okay, these will probably work."
- Writer
