One Last Dance

One Last Dance

"Can I have a dance?"

A man with a pitch black mask covering the upper half of his face asked me. His face was very pale and his lips were thin.

Looking in his twinkling dark eyes, I felt like I've seen them before.

"But I can't dance." I said.

I wouldn’t have come to the ball if it weren’t themed as a Victorian London one. There is something I find really interesting about the Victorian era.

"Oh Darling!" the man said with a charming smile, "Let me take the lead."

This time I knew for sure I’ve heard that same voice saying the exact same word, “Darling!”

Unconsciously I gave my hands to his. We moved to the dance floor. He put his hand behind my back and pulled me closer.

I was oblivious to my surrounding. The only thing I was looking at was his pitch black eyes. The lights reflected in them as we move along the music. Hours after hours past. But we did not stop. I could not remember when was the last time I felt that much happy. We laughed, we danced and kept staring at each other’s eyes.

A sudden flashback cross my mind. I was dancing with my beloved surrounded by the dark woods. Our laughs were the only sound we could hear.

I pulled away and gasped, “You’re him.”

He came closer to me and whispered, “And you’re her, my mellilla.”

Read Part 2 Here

“The Crucible” by Arthur Miller Review

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 3/5

Summary: “The Crucible” is a play of 1953 by Arthur Miller. The story is based on the infamous ‘Salem witch trials’ which took place in the 1692-1693. A group of young women, lead by Abigail Williams, accuse the village people of witchcrafts which results in a hysteria among them.

My opinion: The writing style of this play was very neat and I enjoyed reading every minute of it. It was short but the scenes were very intense. It showed how the ‘Salem witch trials’ was unfair and how ironically they hanged the people who wouldn’t admit being a witch rather than the ones who already did.

But there is a specific problem in this play which I would like to discuss. The protagonist John Proctor was shown as a brave hero whereas the antagonist was Abigail Williams, a very young girl who was sexually exploited by her former master (John Proctor). Isn’t it misogynistic how the writer had made the real victim look like a villain and the abuser a hero? I know Abigail was twisted and what she did was not right. But it was John who made her go that way.

Another problematic thing about this was that John was expecting his wife, Elizabeth, to forgive him because he had confessed to her. But when she couldn’t, it made him angry. At the end too, Elizabeth took all the blame on her saying she was too ‘cold’ as to why John made the mistake in the first place. That was really misleading. No one should be felt that way when their partner is the one cheating.

Quote: “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it.”

‘Wuthering Heights’ By Emily  Brontë Book Review

Genre: Gothic/Romance

Rating: 3/5

Summary: The story of Catherine Earnshaw and her foster brother, Heathcliff falling in love. But when Catherine is married to another man Heathcliff seek revenge on those he thinks are responsible.

My Opinion: I was confused throughout the whole book. Sometimes I liked it, sometimes I didn’t. The characters were hard to sympathize with. The decisions they made were crazy. Overall the whole book seemed like a mess.

Still, there were some memorable events which I can't deny that I really liked. The ending was satisfying too.

Favourite Character: Edgar Linton seemed like the only sane person in the entire book. He was a sensible person and I felt his judgements were right.

Quote: “You said I killed you--haunt me then.”

"Harry, what did you do?"

"What you made me do!"

Birthday presents from my loved ones.

Absent-Minded Man by Jerome K. Jerome

This is a humorous story about a man named McQuae who is inattentive to anything around him. He can’t remember invitation details, appointments and even the women he were engaged to. However, when he finally gets to marry a jolly woman named Leena, his friend, the writer thinks that it won’t last long as he will forget about her too. After a considerable time, the writer unexpectedly meets his old friend McQuae, drenched in water on a rainy day. McQuae as always informs that he has moved to the new place with Leena and has forgotten all about it. The writer very calmly takes his friend to a solicitor and finally restores him to his wife.

The story is hilarious. Some of the conversations made me laugh out loud. The first part of the story was narrated in second person, which is the rarest in English literature. This is the only story I’ve read which has this style of writing. So, I enjoyed learning something new.

I didn’t like the fact that the character of Leena was mostly in the shadow of her husband, McQuae, the protagonist of the story. Although she was explained as a cheerful woman, we don’t see her express any such action.

If I could change anything from the story I would have added more detailed information regarding Leena. So that the readers can have a clear idea of how she was able to live with a man like McQuae for so long.

Other than the aforementioned point, I found the story genuinely amusing. It shows that how absent mindedness can put someone in absurd situations. I, myself, often get distracted in many occasions. Now, I have started to focus more on my surroundings. This story has taught me a fine lesson.

I’ve actually wrote this for an assignment where I was supposed to write about a short story I liked. But unfortunately, the teacher is making us write a review on the story SHE tells us. I was so excited about this assignment in the beginning. Now, I’m devastated.