The cold wind outside might have swept away the fear. The drunken waft of the crowd's breath comforted her when the lights dimmed. A change of atmosphere was good. Her capricious mood suited a summer night like this. It warranted a belief in these next few moments to be a defining turning point in her life. Unofficial biographers will study them and say that on a two-bit stage, like this, a legend was made. Carving her way through the business with pure malice and spite, because it's what the machine wants - no, needs. A triumphant voice among the many and hailed as a pioneer for the failures. The failures deserved to be recognised. Without them, the ultimate winners could never be decided.
With delusions of grandeur on her side, she took to the stage.
There was no curtain call or encore. But their claps were loud and even a few stood up. That teacher in that movie got it right: We live because of some things (science/medicine/technology), but we don't always live for them. We live for highs like this.
After the show she gingerly made her way backstage and took off her make-up. She scratched her head while looking at her reflection in the mirror.
'Yeah, I was great tonight,' she thought 'I'm on top of the world, and this is the view millions of others before me aim towards...'
But deep in her heart of hearts she realised with perfect clarity: no. The magic for her would only last as long as others saw her that way.
Buried in one's memories, there are no treasures of the past. Just small, ephemeral and subjective experiences. But just because it's small does not mean it's insignificant. And it's on this basis that some humans put their hopes on. So hold on to it. It's yours and nobody can take it away from you.
When the stringent dominations around you become overwhelming, don't let it go; your hopes, the ones you carry everywhere with you, and the magic that comes along with it.
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