Inside the dressing room, Luna sat in a chair, resplendent in an exquisite, ornate evening gown. Yet beneath the beautiful hem of her dress, her legs were trembling uncontrollably, and a lingering sense of unease washed over her like a tide.
She could partly understand the immediate situation, but she could not guess the Director's intentions in making these arrangements.
Looking back at the holiday celebrations of past years, she had always taken part in the chorus or group dances. A crowd of children, dressed in their Sunday best, would face the audience, singing warm, celebratory songs or performing simple routines. And Luna would always stand quietly in the back row, trying to make herself invisible. With the voices of the chorus rising and falling all around, no one cared whether she sang well or even if she made a sound at all. Naturally introverted and averse to the spotlight, she would always cleverly hide behind a few taller children, showing only the tip of her head. As long as she stayed out of the Director's sight, she could slip through to the end of the performance without a sound.
Chapter 49