Wanna see a novel grow? Have a look and tell me what you think...

[jacobitedreamer]

The empty mirror


Like a flaming sunset the heavy velvet curtain lowered over the thunderlike waves of applause and separated the actor from his audience. For the last time ever, Manuel had died on this stage, murdered by the truthlessness of his wife.
Tomorrow he would be a murderer himself, on another stage, in another town.

Here he had played his role with art and elegance, opening for his audience the gate to the magic world of drama, this magnificent and illusive world, where human identity with all its desperate confusion seemed to dissolve in the frenzy of everchanging feelings and images.

Manuel loved to get lost in the roles he played, to see his audience laugh and cry, caught in the spell of illusions which he was able to put on them. He knew of the omnipotence of phantasy, the power of his art.

Many a time the deep and secret feelings of which people normally felt ashamed, awoke in the darkness of the theatre hall. Here, between the velvet chairs, the curtain and stage existed an intimate cosmos, a harbour for all those dreams which time and a cold, calculating reality had deprived of their wings.

When the curtain went down and a secret tear, a faint smile broke through the leaden masks of the audience, Manuel thought to see his own figure reflected in every tear, in every smile. It seemed to him as if the spotlights of the theatre threw a glimpse of light into the reality-shadowed hearts of the people, as if his acting would make him an inerasable part of their souls.

All the others had long gone, had taken off their costumes and relieved their faces from the rigid, painted grimaces. But Manuel returned once more to the stage, staring into the semi-darkness of the empty hall. Closing his eyes, he could feel the warmth of the spotlights again, hear the applause and the cheering of the audience. His audience. The tall, lean gentleman and his corpulent wife, the ever-scribbling critic and the child with its large, questioning eyes - for a little moment they had opened their souls to him. To the actor who there on the stage, tried to act the tender tragedy of each of them.
Then again, he looked around, shivering with the cold of loneliness. It was this heavy silence that lay on his shoulders like a cloak of ice. There on the floor of the stage, some flowers lay. Manuel took them up, with a bitter smile. Memories, feelings, flowers - they would all wither and fade away, leaving behind nothing but aching, invisible scars in his unknown heart. What would remain of him? What would remain of his art, of his acting? With the dying flowers still in hand, he walked to the dressing room.

He sat down in silence, still thinking with a smile on his triumph. Then he put aside his costume with tender accuracy and began to remove his makeup.

From the large mirror before him poured a silvery light which entirely filled the little room.
Slowly, with many a sigh, Manuel took leave of his stage visage.
But this time his face failed to appear from under the make up. His well known, famous face: With every wipe of the cotton it seemed to disappear more and more in the silvery mist of the mirror, until there was nothing left of it but the questioning, tearstained eyes of a child.
Manuel closed his eyes for a moment. Maybe he was only tired. But he did search the cold mirror in vain. His face had gone. "This mirror, it must be blind with dust", Manuel said to himself and lifted his arm to clean it with some cotton. But as he touched the mirror, a burning heat seemed to emerge from it, making it impossible for the actor to touch it again.


(I hope that's enough for today.)

[Edited by jacobitedreamer on 23rd May 2002 at 17:00]

[Silverlining]

S.com now playing a novel by jacobitedreamer...
Wooo Hooo!!!! That should be fun...

The title is quite suggestive...
So far we got Manuel the actor, and I am already questioning... [What is the plot? Where and when does it take place? Who are the other players? What does Manuel look like? What is happening in their minds?]...

Oh the world of story telling... all the possibilities...

~S

[jacobitedreamer]

Originally posted by Silverlining
S.com now playing a novel by jacobitedreamer...
Wooo Hooo!!!! That should be fun...

The title is quite suggestive...
So far we got Manuel the actor, and I am already questioning... [What is the plot? Where and when does it take place? Who are the other players? What does Manuel look like? What is happening in their minds?]...

Oh the world of story telling... all the possibilities...

~S

Well, Silverlining, Manuel is an actor. What he looks like? Unimportant! Where does it take place and when? Any time, any place. It's a bit philosophical. First, Manuel's face disappears from the mirror. And he thinks of who he is. And he gets to know the poorest and dirtiest people of the city he lives in. And he will see his fall. I just need some time to post this here. Actually, what you see growing is the translation, not so much the novel, which I have written in German. But I will write the "Seannachie's ring" in English for straight posting. LOL

Hope you'll like it.

[Silverlining]

Thanks for the synopses... And yes by reading the title you 'could' think of a philosophical plot... But again is your novel!
You've mentioned before that you would have to translate it – so I would think the novel is a completed work?

I'll be reading...

~S

[FrstWizzard]

so will eye!

[Sapphire_M]

very nice jacobite..
look foreward to reading more !

[jacobitedreamer]

Thanks,friends!

It is a completed work already. But it changes a little with the translation. It's got a life of its own. I will supply you with some more of it today.

The "Seannachie's Ring" will be written here in the forum. So you can even try to give a vote on the run of the story (something like "Shall we kill that guy or not? Shall she marry him or not). So I hope we'll all have some fun.

I'm just spending some time on writing a poem about my great hero and reading through the Grameid, of which, thanks to a friend of mine, I have got a complete copy now. So it's time for brushing up my Latin and my medivial English, hehehe! So all this is thrilling and keeps me a bit from writing. Have patience! LOL