Prima

Intro The haze of the ether began to lift as her head lolled first from one side then to the other. It hurt. God, why did her mouth hurt? She whimpered softly, touching a delicate hand to her cheek and coming away with crimson staining her fingertips. A low rumble of thunder from above her, and a shadow looming. No, not thunder. Laughter, then a voice. His voice. The sting of malice sliced through her senses and he hissed, “You look so pretty when you smile,” as he pressed the knife to her cheek. “That's it,” he laughed, and she shrieked at the tear away pain. “Ah yes, there it is… beautiful.” Norman Rice. He killed her. She had so much promise, so much to live for, and he ripped it all from her. A promising young Ballerina whose art was well respected and cultivated with great interest by her mentors, she could have been legendary. Unfortunately, she garnered the attentions of the strange and antisocial young Norman Rice, a stagehand who worked at the Opera House her Ballet company performed at. Lingering glances and awkward, unnerving smiles turned into unwanted and disturbing tokens of affection, lurking in shadows outside places she frequented and leaving increasingly troubling ‘love letters’. Eventually, obsession turned deadly in the most tragic way possible, in the place she had once found the most joy and fulfillment in. Now, she wanders the Opera House at night, her ethereal and ghostly specter rumored to have been seen by many over the years. She has lost track of how long it has been since she was alive. Long enough that she has forgotten her name. Those who catch a glimpse of her, dancing alone on stage or flitting through abandoned hallways, have given her the moniker of ‘Prima’. When a new night custodian starts their first evening of work at the Opera House, they never thought they would encounter the beautiful yet terrifying spirit that inhabits the walls of the theatre. Inspiration: Smile by Aryia & Dancing On My Own by Callum Scott