31 Captivated

I was not very good at trying to hold my breath and breathe under the guise of a mask.

Colorful lights dancing in synchrony with the upbeat music calmed my jumpy nerves. The faint smell of elegant cocktails and smoke wafted in the surroundings.

Joyous waves of laughter and the sound of cards echoed inside and bounced off the walls of the small space.

An ominous feeling settled in my chest while I sat in the spectator's seat, waiting for the performance promised by the lady who welcomed us and handed out the mask I had to put on.

Fifi had to join the other performers, leaving me alone in the sea of masked people. I had no idea how she would pull this off, but I cannot deny the thrill of seeing this until the end.

Servers were roaming around. A few of them were men dressed in the same black robe, while seventy percent were females, wearing the same black apparel.

A large part of their front was left open, and it didn't escape my notice how some gamblers would slip a folded cash in between the cleavage of the female servers passing by.

Slot machines whirred, and a mixture of dings and howls of victory and loss came from one corner.

Plastic chips falling on each other or getting stacked, and the bets made were only some noises that made me wonder how lucky these rich people were.

They could stay here, night and day, spend their money and win more or lose it, but they still enjoy life to the fullest.

They had no care in the outside world.

To them, the world was inside the gambling den.

A gong echoed in the distance, silencing the uproar in an instant. Bright lights were flashed to a miniature stage in the middle of the den.

There was anticipation, everyone holding their breaths for what happened next.

The colorful lights were put to a stop.

Sultry music blasted from the speakers, igniting the lively energy of half the men in the Casa.

I only had one reason for watching this: Fifi was there.

Out of duty or maybe of genuine nature, I was hoping to get her off the stage if this performance turned out to be too much for someone like her.

One by one, women dressed in silver satin dresses walked to the stage. Their ivory skin almost made it appear like they were wearing nothing. The dress was short enough, covering one-fourth of their thighs.

Their hairs were intentionally pulled back in a high ponytail. Once the women were complete and had stood in their places, microphone stands with the attached mic appeared from below.

Fifi was standing in the middle, her aura shining so bright that the others dimmed in comparison. I had no idea if that had something to do with her connection to Nirvana or if it was just her.

Feeling restless, I grabbed a glass of cocktail from the tray a server offered when she came by. A soft giggle escaped her lips upon politely bowing to me.

I bowed in exchange, grateful for the mask. It hid the fact that I looked too young to be in such a place.

In my 25 years of existence, though, I had never stepped inside a gambling den, much less tried gambling in any way.

I was either too broke to spend money or had no interest in socializing with arrogant people.

Reminding myself of the reason I was there, I looked away from staring at Fifi and let my gaze wander around.

That woman, Ysabel, possessed a beauty like no other. I was sure she would stand out even in a crowded place.

In the same way Fifi was standing out like a sore thumb among the sea of women.

It could just be me. However, when I turned around, ninety percent of the people everywhere had their focus on her.

"Why did you choose to show up at that moment?" I mumbled, not even sure who I was mad at.

Fifi, the people around or at myself.

Ignoring the urge to disrupt the performance, I tried to search the crowd. My eyes wandered from one person to the next.

With everyone wearing a mask, except for the stage performers, the task proved to be a little tricky.

But from memory, I could remember how Ysabel's locks fell perfectly from her shoulders.

I made that a mark to ensure I didn't miss it.

Shivers ran along my spine as a melodious voice suddenly rang in the surroundings. I turned my head and found that Fifi was singing the first verse on solo.

Everyone was captivated by her angelic tone. I couldn't take my eyes away from her.

Her attention was on me in a few minutes, and a smirk broke out on her face. That ruined the awe-moment for me.

I snorted, realizing that she just mocked me with that smirk. It wasn't very pleasant and, at the same, an honor to be affiliated with her.

She knew what she was doing, after all.

The crowd listened quietly. No one dared to make a sound. Fifi continued to belt out the lyrics of the music. The other women slowly added their voices, singing the chorus and the rest of the song together.

I was distracted by that.

It took me a moment to pull myself away and turn in the other direction. Something caught my eye by then.

It was a beautiful set of hair.

Without hesitation, I slowly got out of my seat and followed the woman. She was wearing a rabbit mask. Her light green dress was designed with a huge printed animal on one side.

It was challenging to move through the crowd. A mixture of unpleasant grunts and annoyed scoffs came to my hearing every time I tried to evade a foot or a hand.

I could only care less.

Making it to the corner where the designated bar was located, I tried to look for Ysabel. However, my effort was futile.

Defeated, I run a hand through my hair, thinking about returning.

A hand suddenly grabbed me by the arm, pulling me to the side.

I expected to find Fifi scowling at me because I was out of her sight. But the rabbit mask came into view instead of seeing my pixie companion.