Chapter Text
In the curious case of happenstance, Didi found herself thrown into the sea of glitz and glamour. The darkness of night painted the outside streets in silver, with stars dotting the black sky and gentle, grey clouds turning the realm serene. Only a mere moment ago, she was still part of this world; a bystander forced to soak in the night’s jewels, instead of what was behind those doors. She was content this way. Content in not knowing the unknown, in being blind to the other side.
…
How did she end up here, then? She surmised curiosity had killed the cat after all, and instead of ignoring the bad ideas being fed into her mind, she decided to follow her subconscious destiny after all. Or perhaps she simply grew tired of accepting the social norm. Of the ordinary clerkwork, of the click-clack of typewriters that filled every waking hour of her day. Didi yearned for excitement! For that sense of everlasting purpose. For the thrills of life held in the hands of people who knew how to celebrate it, instead of forcing it to endure terror and hardship.
So, perhaps it wasn’t so wrong of her then to take the offer from Mr Haverhill. To accept the decision he made—more luck than kindness—to extend an invitation for her to come to his party. And who could ever blame her for agreeing? The darkness only invited such little light, and Didi wished to see more than the stars. By the time she had accepted—a shake of a hand, a few pleasantries exchanged, a promise for her to be there—Didi had little time to recognise the severity of her actions. How does one explain the reason for an accountant like her to be at a swankified establishment like his? To be at a place where the gardens breathed with life, and the stars shone both inside and out?
It wasn’t until the day of the party arrived that Didi recognised her fatal flaw. Rummaging through her clothing, she found little that suited her. As she put on her dress and looked into the mirror, a sickening chill made its way down her body, and she threw it off immediately. The clock face ticked away, the sun slowly setting, and she could feel the sands of time run their course. A horrid tick-tick-ticking ran through her head, and Didi felt sweat build on her forehead. She would either show up to this party stark naked or not show up at all.
There was, however, one other solution.
Didi crept across to a door hidden in the far corner of her mother’s room. Inside, she pulled out a box, and found the answer to her issues and the cause of many others.
“Well,” she said to herself, “is that not convenient?”
She carefully pulled up the navy blue trousers, tucked in the crisp, white dress shirt that was almost a perfect fit on her frame. It was almost comical, the notion of it all. But as she put on the suit jacket and examined herself in the mirror, a tiny part of her fizzled to life. It was outstanding! She had never felt so beautiful in her life, a sparkle in her eyes reflected back towards her with stunning clarity. Refreshment upon her dull and tedious life!
Yet, she couldn’t ignore the fear that the suit brought. Didi was not secretive; she had dabbled enough in a few bars during the late hours of the night amongst people who were not ashamed of their proximity to women. Places in which fear was always underlying, woven through the establishment’s walls and floors, inescapable even in the most ‘safest’ spots of town. To risk wearing such a thing to a party held in the spotlight? She would be better off dead. But God she wanted a taste of the elite. A taste of what life was like on the other side of the gilded doors.
So she took a pair of scissors, looked at the hair she had grown out for a good year, and made the cut.