The Importance of a Mask

==I would just like to begin by thanking all of you for reading my story. It means so much that you would take the time out of your day to read this. ==

The Story
For as long as I can remember, I have had a habit of collecting masks. It was almost as if they had some form of spiritual energy. When I was young, I would hang masks all over my walls. My parents thought that something was wrong with me. I tried to tell them that nothing was wrong, but they refused to listen to me. I continued to collect masks for years. That was, until one night. On that night, my father put all of my masks in a large garbage bag. He entered my room, and told me that we were going to my grandmother's house. Of course, not knowing what would happen at the time, I nodded and joined him in his old truck. Everything was fine for about half an hour, until he stopped on a dirt road in the middle of the woods. He got out of the truck, walking around to the passenger's side. Opening the door, I noticed a different expression on his face. He grabbed me by the arm, and pulled me out of the truck. Throwing me on the ground, the expression was more recognizable now. Anger. He picked up the bag that contained all of my masks, and threw it onto the ground next to me. "Stay away from us, demon child!" My father shouted as he climbed back into the truck. Closing both of the doors, he quickly drove away. I attempted to follow him, but I was much too slow.

I found myself wandering through the woods with my masks. I walked for what felt like hours, until I found myself at a lake. The lake shimmered with the faint glow of the moon. I looked around for a place to rest, and noticed a large tree. The leaves provided plenty of shade, and I quickly decided that this would be a perfect place to stay. I was shocked by everything that had happened. Thrown out and left to die? Why would they do this to me? I sighed, opening my bag of masks. Despite the overwhelming shock, I pushed it aside as I began to feel another emotion. However, this emotion was not from me. It was from the bag. From a mask. I began to rummage through my masks rather desperately. After a moment, I lifted up a mask that I immediately recognized. The Comedy mask. The feeling was clear now. It was happiness. I slowly slipped the mask onto my face. Within a moment, all of the shock and despair vanished. It was replaced with joy and amusement. A smile on my face, I closed the bag and leaned back against the tree. I closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

When I awoke, something was different. It was still very dark, the moon being the only thing illuminating the sky. However, someone was sitting on the lake. They were turned away from me. I slowly stood up, walking towards the lake's edge. "Hello?" I called out. "Hello there." They responded. "W-Where am I?" I asked curiously. "You are in a dream." The figure replied, standing up. The moon finally illuminated the figure, or, I thought that it did. The figure was as black as night. They turned towards me. "Who are you? Why am I here?" I asked. "I am you, and you are me. You are here because there is something we must do." They explained. I nodded slowly. "What do we need to do?" I asked curiously. "There are souls out there that are rotting away. We must save them." The figure explained, walking towards me. "You must give them a mask, to save them." I nodded slowly, feeling the figure's hand calmly press against my mask. Suddenly, I woke up once more. I stared into the sky as the sun slowly rose over the trees to illuminate the world. I looked down momentarily to find a black cat resting on my lap. "I'll save them." I told myself. To my surprise, the cat opened one eye, glancing up at me. With a rather surprising nod, it closed it's eye and continued to rest.

The Present
I yawned, sitting outside of my shop. It's finally ready. I told myself, looking down at my feline friend. I had come to know this cat as much more than a friend. It followed me everywhere. It was always there. It was almost like it was connected to me. I wouldn't be too surprised if it were to speak to me. "No...we did it." I stated, looking at my friend. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without you." I stated. "You're right." a voice suddenly replied.