The Last Act

Angela stood in the arena, standing at her seat long after the other attendees had left. Perhaps to continue their celebrations elsewhere. She was stupefied to say the least. Her favorite band, The Epiphanies, long since disbanded, had agreed to perform a series of concerts, never to tour again once they were done. She had never been allowed to attend their concerts in her teens, what with super strict parents. In her early twenties she could find nobody else to go with, she was alone in her love for them. Given that at that age, she would rather die than to go anywhere alone (as is the case with many during her generation), she opted not to go the social suicide route. Now here she was, twelve years after she thought she had missed the boat on ever getting the chance to see them live, here she was, living that very impossible dream.

Through their songs, the whole summation of her life could be heard. They had sung the theme songs to her early teens, her twenties and beyond. Every nuanced tremble in the lead singers' vocals, played a very large part in her heartbreaks, her adventures, mishaps and happy accidents all along the way. They were, in fact, the soundtrack to her whole existence. Who else can say that about their favorite band, or any band at all for that matter?

She looked around at the arena, the empty cups strewn about, the sticky floor, the empty vapes, and cigarette lighters carelessly tossed about, and knew at that moment, despite the dirtiness of that arena, and the smoky residue that surrounded her, she did not think she had ever known happiness such as this. The happiness that the music had given her, was so unconditional, and required little more than embracing where she was at that moment, and being present. The sheer joy of the music, the fans, everything, lit such a fire in her.

That moment was everything for her. She was a single mom, and while she loved her kids more than any words can convey, this moment was for her alone. She was euphoric and on a high no drug could have any hope of producing. The high of happiness. She stood and stared at the stage, and could hear them playing their songs, she felt the heat of those lights, the instruments as if they were still there being played, holding the audience captive with their music. It was one of the very few times in her life where time did stand still. She knew they would be ushering her out soon, to clean up for the next act that was to follow, but she wanted to linger just a bit more, knowing this moment would be over soon. She needed to absorb it, take it all in, so the memory would stay with her. There would probably never be another experience like this for her. This too shall pass, sooner than she would like. It would be wistfully remembered like a long lost first love. More good times would follow, she knew this. Not another like this though, she thought. A lump formed in her throat as she surveyed the area around her. Some days can be so hard, life can often be met with many sorrows, and struggles, that the moments of happiness you can find, must be taken in and enjoyed. There are moments to savor, and for her, this was one.

She was not ready to let go of this time, this rare moment absent of responsibilities. No errands to run, no chores to do, no clock to punch. There was so much freedom wrapped up in it. To others this was simply just another concert, like so many before it. To her it was life affirming. It renewed a hunger for life that she thought was gone forever. Prior to this concert, every day just seemed to bleed into the next. There was no variation to any day. Wake up, work, cook, clean, sleep. She was a creative person, and the monotony of every day life threatened to destroy her creativity. She had big dreams, but somewhere along the way, whether it was society as a whole who told her how life would be, or whether she just discovered fear somewhere along the way, she let them slowly become just that, dreams. Something to revisit in her sleep, but never to realistically try to attain. No, this concert was not like any other concert. This concert was her reminder that life was good, beautiful even. She would get back to the person she used to be. Maybe she couldn’t be as impetuous as she used to be, she had her children to think of now, but she certainly would stop limiting her adventures. She was reborn. Who knew attending a concert could be so life changing?

She slowly gathered up her belongings and made her way up `the stairs and out of that auditorium. She knew as she made her way back out into the world, the world she was making her way back to was going to be different. She was going to be different. She was entering a brave new world. She would endeavor to pursue more of what she enjoyed. She would embrace change and conquer fear. The dreams that had laid dormant inside her, had been awakened once more.

She had dreams to pursue, goals to make, new adventures to go on. Her life was going to change in the best possible way. She was smart enough to know that these changes would not be overnight, that they require small steps. Those small steps would get her to where she wanted to go. She hummed her favorite song to herself as she opened the doors and the fresh air hit her face. The most perfect night that she could recall in recent memory was going to continue in the rest of her days. It was as good a night as any to start believing in herself again.