The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

“Arms out wide, with grace” she spoke,

“Again, with pace, and do not choke.”

Blood-tainted sweat rolled down my skin in constant drips,

Sweltering spittle formed at the pool of scarlet by my lip,

Lungs emptied of oxygen, limbs numb as stone,

Muscles burning like flame, but somehow still chilled to the bone. 

My self-critic crying with each wrong move,

Battling the struggle to get others to approve,

But the next morning, as my reflection looked back at me,

A timid, lonely girl was all that I could see,

The pinky hue of my lips could not hide the 

red mark,

And the thick layers of makeup could not hide the circles so dark,

As I walked out the towering door, the sky came into view,

It almost seemed as though it was hiding something too,

As the pale pastels danced around like waves above,

For a brief moment in time, there was an illusion that that would be enough,

But as the greys broke through and the clouds started to close in,

The beautiful illusion was suddenly broken,

And as a thousand faces gathered around, no sound from one,

It became clear that the ritual had finally begun,

“Perform when ready, with much more pace.”

“Remember your arms up high, and wide, your grace.”