Selena's Performance

Arena became a bit hectic the next day. Selena's performance would take place in the evening, and there were only two small performances that day. The afternoon and evening were reserved for the star and her team to make all the preparations. From what mom told me, the tickets were already sold out and the place would be packed. I was a bit glad we got to use aunt Alicia's room, and avoid all the crowds. Before the evening, mom took out a beautiful dress from her storage item, and handed it to me. "Mommy made this dress for special occasions. Since today is a big night, we should dress appropriately, right?", she said. I didn't really wear fancy clothes, but the dress mom made was very beautiful.

I quickly changed into the dress, and took a look at myself. White and peach body, with a white skirt extending beyond the knees. The skirt had vine-like lines sawn into it, which made it look even more appealing and beautiful. The skirt was also separated in a few areas. When I spun around, it fluttered like petals of a flower. The body had no sleeves. Instead, two almost transparent straps rested atop my shoulders, supporting the whole dress. The dress was very soft to touch and very comfortable to wear. "You really made this mom? This dress is so beautiful! You should design clothes for people, instead of managing them", I said. "I'm glad you like it. I also have new shoes for you, try them out" she said and handed me the shoes. They were white, and had the same vine design. I quickly put them on, and took a look at myself again. "They match the dress really well, and they are very comfortable and light. Mom is really talented at making clothes", I said. Mom stroked my hair for a bit and said, "You look beautiful sweetie. Go, show it to your grandpa while I change into my dress. I should be ready in a while, alright?". I nodded and left the room.

Grandpa's room was next to ours, and I wanted to surprise him. Without knocking, I entered the room and saw how his face changed. "...My Anna looks like a princess!", grandpa exclaimed and rushed towards me. "Stop it grandpa, it's just a dress". Although I said that, deep down I was happy grandpa reacted in such a way. I spun around a few times and said, "Mom is putting on her own dress right now. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure she will be beautiful. Let's give her some time to change, and then we can go have a look". Grandpa was really impressed by the dress. "It's a shame I'm no painter… I'd love to have a painting of my lovely granddaughter in her dress", he said. "It's fine grandpa. You already saw me in the dress, there is no need to make a painting", I replied. He shook his head, "Of course there is! I can brag to other old fools how my granddaughter is so pretty!". I giggled because of grandpa, and told him to stop it. We talked for a while, before someone knocked on the doors. "Come in", grandpa invited. Mom walked in, and shocked both of us. "Wow… Mom is so beautiful", I said quietly.

The white, black and grey coloured dress fit snuggly to mom's body. The bottom of the dress was a bit more loose and reminded me of my skirt, but the design was different. Instead of vines, straight horizontal lines spanned across the entire skirt. The dress had no sleeves or strips, it was held by mom's body alone. She also wore high boots with her fingers visible, they looked great on her. She even had some jewellery on her neck and wrist. "Quick! Get someone to paint my daughter and granddaughter!", grandpa exclaimed. "Quiet down dad, it's just a dress. I have something for you too. Since we look so good, you'd only spoil the mood with your everyday clothes", mom said and handed him some clothes too. "Change into them. We will wait for you in our room, alright?", she added.

Mom grabbed my hand and took me outside. "You are so beautiful, no star can compare to you mom!", I exclaimed. "Stop it sweetie, mommy will blush", she replied. 'Maybe getting someone to paint us wouldn't be such a bad idea', I thought. "Do you like my dress that much?", mom asked after taking a look at herself. I nodded a few times, "It's really pretty, and mom is also very pretty. That father…", I stopped myself. There was no need to spoil the mood, we were there to enjoy ourselves. "It's pretty. I'm sure aunt Alicia will be surprised", I added. "Heh? You think mother cares about that?", she asked. I shook my head, "I don't know, but I know something else. If you walked on that stage, I'm sure you'd steal the show from that Selena".

Mom stroked my hair and said, "That's enough sweetie, you made mommy blush. You are also very beautiful". I nodded, "Because mom is my mom!". She kissed my cheek and stroked my hair a bit more. "Your grandpa should be ready soon. We can have our dinner when we join your aunt and the rest. Tomorrow, the contests will begin. Although your contest starts in two days, we can watch others, right?", she said. I nodded and we waited for grandpa to finish changing. A while later, we heard a knock on the doors. "Come in father", mom said. Grandpa came inside and struck a pose. "What do you think? Don't I look great?", he asked.

I laughed at the pose and replied, "Yes, grandpa looks great. Mom should really make clothes instead. I think she is very talented". Grandpa had a long blue coat, with a light blue shirt underneath. Sleek blue pants and shoes went very well with the coat as well. The buttons and all the seams were gold in colour, which made the blue clothes stand out even more. "Yes, your mother is a great tailor. She's wasting her talents", grandpa replied. "Alright you guys, that's enough praise. We should be on our way now, don't want to be late, right?", mom said and grabbed my hand.

We made our way towards the private room, and everyone we passed stared at us. 'Mom knows how to make clothes stand out, everyone's staring at us…', I thought. I wasn't used to getting such attention, but mom and grandpa seemed to be fine. They walked forwards confidently, with their heads raised up. Aunt Alicia, Suly, Leran and uncle Lazar were already inside the room, waiting for us. "Anna, you look so great in that dress. No doubt your mom made it for you", Suly said and approached me to have a proper look. I nodded and introduced grandpa, "This is my grandpa Philip, he will be joining us for today's performance". Grandpa introduced himself to the rest, and conversed with aunt and uncle. "You look stunning too. I wish you could make some clothes for me", Suly said to mom. "I'm not that great, but I can make something for you. You took care of Anna for me after all", mom replied.

"How are you Leran?", I walked over and picked him up. "Selena is going to perform! I can't wait!", he exclaimed. I was a bit disappointed Leran didn't care about our dresses, but he was very young so I didn't mind that much. "Yes, we all want to see it. I'm sure the performance will be great", I replied. "Anna, eat your dinner before the performance", mom called me over. After the dinner, we sat down and awaited Selena's appearance. At some point, the announcer entered the stage and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you for gathering here today for this special performance! The person performing today needs little introduction. The star is renowned throughout the Great North, and her voice will melt your hearts away. Please welcome SELENA!". The crowd cheered loudly, as the sound of drums reverberated throughout the Arena.

"Bam!", "Bam!", "Bam!", "Ba Bam!", "Bam!", "Bam!"... "Bam!"... The orbs illuminating the stage died down for a second, before the whole stage got flooded with light and someone appeared in the middle. The drums sounded again, and Selena began her performance. Her voice was really different, and one of a kind. A high pitched but soothing melody escaped her mouth. It all felt ethereal, like she was from a different world. Her long dress was a combination of green and yellow, with strands of fabric hanging around her lower area. While Selena danced and moved, the dress fluttered around creating an even more charming performance. Her arms made all sorts of welcoming gestures, as if inviting the audience to join her. The crowd became silent, even excited Leran watched and listened without making a noise.

Suddenly, her voice changed pitch and became thicker. At the same time, flames surrounded the stage and danced as if to the rhythm of her singing. The whole spectacle was really on another level, incomparable to what I saw until that point. She really was a star, and I understood why people were so enthusiastic about her. Just as the flames died down, the lights also disappeared, but that wasn't the end yet. The sound of drums intensified, until the lights came back and revealed Selena in a different dress. This time, her dress was larger and pure white in colour. She started singing again, while arrows of fire and water flew through the air above her. Suddenly, pillars of water rose from the ground and surrounded her. Selena's voice intensified to a high but beautiful pitch, as the four pillars slowly moved towards her. Just before the pillars collided into her, she jumped into the air and landed atop the now merged pillars. She extended her hand towards the sky, and released her last sound before stopping.

The crowd roared with cheers, while the pillar of water slowly lowered her down to the stage. The performance was really great, it was way better than I expected. Even Leran went crazy inside the room, while everyone else clapped and nodded their heads. Selena bowed down to the audience, and left the stage after thanking everyone for attending. "She was really beautiful, her voice was also great. The whole performance was amazing! No wonder she is a star", I said. "Let's wait here for a bit. There is one more surprise for you guys", aunt Alicia said. "There will be another performance?", Leran asked. Aunt smiled before replying, "You will see, have some patience, alright?". Leran nodded and sat back down in his chair. 'If she's going to perform once more, I wonder what she would show us this time?', I asked myself.

"How did you like it mom?", I asked but mom was staring at aunt. "Don't worry, she was made aware", aunt said to mom. "What do you mean?", I asked unsure. "It's nothing dear, let's wait here for a bit. Mommy liked the performance a lot, she has a very nice voice, right?", mom replied. I nodded, "Yes! No wonder people support her so much, she has great talent". Mom smiled and grabbed me, "I still think Anna is the most beautiful in the world". "Stop it mom, you are embarrassing me… By the way, you've been really quiet all this time, grandpa", I said. "...I'm so glad I came here. To think such a voice could exist… I think I fell in love", grandpa replied while staring at the empty stage. We all looked at each other and laughed. "Grandpa, you are so bad", I said.

While we conversed about the performance, someone knocked on the doors. "Come in", aunt Alicia invited. The doors opened, and Selena walked inside. Besides mom, aunt and uncle, everyone else was really surprised. Leran ran up to Selena and clung onto her without a second thought. "Leran, that's not nice", uncle Lazar said and grabbed Leran off of Selena. "It's fine sir, no harm done", Selena replied in a sweet voice. She then bowed towards us and asked, "Did you enjoy the performance?". Leran nodded like a little bird, while others expressed their admiration for the performance.

Grandpa acted a bit weird though. He stared at Selena for a while, before taking out a piece of paper and a brush. "Please, can you sign this! I don't really have anything else". We all looked at each other unsure what to do. Selena smiled and signed the paper, she then moved it closer to her mouth, and actually kissed it. "Here you go sir. I'm glad to have such a supporter, thank you for coming tonight", she said while handing the paper back to grandpa.

Grandpa seemed very elated, but Leran didn't want to be left out. He grabbed a few of his things, and also demanded a signature. "Leran, behave will you", uncle scolded him. "By all means, I don't mind doing this. I'm glad there are people who enjoy my performances so much, I really appreciate it", Selena said and signed anything Leran threw her way. She then approached me, and asked if I wanted anything signed as well. I didn't really feel the need, but I didn't want to be mean either. I asked mom for a piece of paper, and gave it to Selena. "Your name is Anna, right?", she asked. "How did you know?", I replied confused. No one mentioned my name since Selena entered. "Ah… Oh! I was notified who would be inside, before I came here. You look very beautiful in that dress, Anna. Have you ever wondered about becoming a performer?", she replied.

I nodded, "I did think about it, but it's not for me. I want to pursue a different path". Leran on the other hand jumped with joy, and announced he wanted to become one. "That is great to hear, I'm sure we can be friends when you grow up. Who knows, maybe we can perform together one day", Selena said. Leran nodded a few times and said it would be his goal from now on. Selena turned towards me again, "It's a shame you chose something else. I could've introduced you to a few people. No matter, here take it", she said and handed the paper back to me. Instead of a simple signature, it was a dedicated message. I smiled, and gave it to mom.

She then turned towards mom and said, "Thank you for this opportunity to meet you. I heard miss is a great tailor, but I'm not shameless enough to ask for something. Meeting you here fills my heart with joy. Your daughter is really beautiful, I wish you all the best". She had to go and meet with other supporters. We bid her farewell, while Leran almost cried when she left. 'That was weird, is mom a really popular tailor?', I asked myself. With Leran's nagging, I abandoned my thoughts and joined in to calm him down.