Behind the velvet curtains

“No, please come in, I insist,” said Ziv, a man in his late forties, who ran his family’s enormous castle with many rooms. He lived with his maid, who felt like his mother. Rea, a Mexican actress, visited the movie set to get to know the place she was working in. She was fascinated by the long golden walls, the spacious halls, the red velvet curtains, and the pictures hung that had people who looked ethereal. Still, one shot stopped her; it was the picture of a child who had short red wavy hair, sharp but shiny eyes, and defined lips that looked as if they were drawn. His hundredth plea broke her reverie. Rea accepted Ziv’s invitation and decided to have coffee with him. They had a friendly chat, introducing themselves to each other until…

Ziv stared at her for a long time; she got anxious.

“Why are you staring? Is there something wrong?”

“No, sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I was just thinking of the resemblance between you and… never mind.”

She kept silent, but Rea was confused. Ziv broke the silence with a request.

“You don’t have to stay in a hotel. You can stay here because, as you know, fans and paparazzi will be waiting for you in front of the door. My castle is so big but empty, and you can also familiarize yourself with the set you’re working in.”

She didn’t think about anything except that she didn’t want to meet anybody and didn’t want to go through the mess. Not because she hated her fans, but because she had just gone through problems with her brother. All the media knew about it; she didn’t want to talk about it. In addition, she liked the way the castle looked. What she liked most was the library, which looked like a whole house on its own. It had a glassy ceiling, from which the sun shined on the well-organized, polished books that looked freshly printed. There were two crocodile-green chairs, and different kinds of plants, small trees, and flowers with every happy, relaxing color you could think of.

“Fine, I will stay.”

“Are you being for real? I’m delighted; you don’t know how lucky I am to have you in my home. Ava, come show the lady around!”

She had a tour around the castle; it felt like she was walking in what felt like heaven to her. She chose her room because she felt a strange connection to it. It had an Alaskan king-sized bed, Juniper-colored walls, grey-gold sheets and cover, and well-designed tiles that were as bright as if there was a bulb lighting them from below. After a long night of rehearsal, Rea jumped on the bed and felt like she was drowning, so she slept soundly. She woke up for a minute because she felt like someone was watching her, but she thought of it only as hallucinations because she was tired and fell asleep again. She woke with loud bangs on her door.

Rea took her phone and saw that it was 6 a.m. She noticed the missed calls from her manager, hopped from the comfy bed, and went to open the door. It was without doubt her manager; he looked so mad.

“Why weren’t you answering my calls?!”

“Sorry, I fell asleep and didn’t see my phone.”

“Fine,” her manager sighed, “now go to the caravan to get ready for your first scene.”

“I will, sorry again.”

The makeup artist and hairstylist were waiting for her. All she knew was that she closed her eyes and woke up with a tap on her shoulder. She looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize herself. With short bobbed red hair, she stared at herself the way Ziv stared at her. Taking permission from her manager, she ran into the castle and went to the picture she had seen earlier of the child, and found Ziv standing there, crying.

“Uhm, sorry if I’m interrupting something, but I saw this photo earlier, and now I feel like she is me; we have the same hair and features. It feels like the girl in the picture is my long-lost twin.”

“Right, she looks like your twin,” Ziv replied.

“So, you’re not telling me, who is she?”

“She’s my mother. Her name is Violet. She died in her thirties, and before you speak, yes, she died at a very young age, I know. She passed out during childbirth, and for your information, she gave birth in your room.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

She felt guilty because she saw Ziv crying, but also confused, so she left and went back to the set. But the picture of the girl didn’t leave her mind for a second. Returning to the castle after a successful shoot, Rea went to her room and asked Ava to bring her tea. She sat there reading Pride and Prejudice, drank her tea, and slept.

A nightmare woke her up. She looked at her phone; it was 3 a.m. She rolled to the other side of the bed, about to close her eyes, but noticed someone staring. She was wearing a gown dress, had golden locks, broad shoulders, not very tall, but had the figure of a man. Rea jumped out of fear, turned on the light, and decided to tell Ava about it, because it wasn’t her first time seeing someone watching her.

“I swear she was there. She was there the first night I came, and today. I’m so petrified. I feel like me staying here is very disturbing.”

Ava got nervous. “No, darling, don’t think of it this way. I think it was my mom who you saw; she sometimes walks while sleeping.”

“But Ziv told me that nobody lives here except you and him. How come it’s your mom?” Rea replied.

“I think he didn’t want to tell you, not to alarm you. Promise I’ll lock her room next time.”

A month passed, and “Ava’s mom” still visited Rea every night. She grew so frustrated that she decided to stay awake and talk to her one night. That night came. She was nervous, trying to calm herself. She decided to read one of her books. The woman finally showed up. Rea tried to be as quiet as possible not to scare her. When she got closer, she realized the woman who was supposed to be Ava’s mother was a man. He had a beard but wore makeup, he was wearing a gown dress, and had golden locks. Rea tried coming closer to figure out who he was, but he ran away the second he saw her.

The next day on set, she didn’t perform as well as before because she was still scared of that man. As usual, the shooting didn’t finish until midnight, and this time they were shooting in the forest. Walking, drowning in her thoughts, she heard someone behind her. She felt a hand on her mouth and nose, felt dizzy, lightheaded, her vision blurry.

Rea heard singing and smelled a flowery scent so strong it felt like the flowers were inside her nose. She saw herself running from the castle. She forced her eyes open, but her vision was still blurry. She tried moving her hand to rub her eyes, but her arms seemed to be tied behind her. In the dim light, she saw the man she had seen since she came to the castle. I am dreaming. I’m asleep, and I will wake up, and he will be gone, she thought.

When her vision finally returned, she saw the “woman” sitting at her dressing table, brushing her golden locks. She studied herself and realized that the jeans she was wearing had been replaced with silk. Even her shirt had been replaced with silk. Whoever that person was, they had undressed her, and a shudder of terror ran down her spine. Back to the person on the chair—their body didn’t look like someone over ninety, so it couldn’t be Ava’s mother like she had said. She closed her eyes.

“I know you’re awake. I saw you open your eyes. My name is Alice, by the way, just like Alice in Wonderland.”

Alice turned to Rea, and she caught her breath in horror; this person was not a woman, but a horrible mocking of femininity.

“It’s so nice of you to sit here and have a nice conversation with me. Mummy was never keen on boys. Much better to be a girl, she said. You know, I was so lonely as a child. My mother left me, and I don’t think she ever liked me.” He started crying.

“Can I get you a handkerchief?”

“Yes, they are right there in the drawer.”

Rea realized it was now or never. She ran to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked.

“Why are you running away from me? Don’t leave me as mummy did. I hate this game, please come back.”

Rea tried running upstairs to find another way out when she heard the door open, and a familiar voice spoke.

“Now, come on, dear, let your friend go. I know you’re just playing, but mummy won’t be happy if she hears about this, right? I promise if you come quietly with me, I won’t tell mummy.”

They went back home, and Rea went to sleep in a hotel.

Ava came to her the next day.

“I apologize I lied to you and said it was my mother. I should’ve told you all about Ziv’s condition, but I never thought this would ever happen. His family never liked boys. His mother was the only one who was okay with boys, but sadly she died while giving birth to him and left him with his grandmother. His grandmother made him wear dresses and act like a girl because she never accepted he was a boy. It affected him badly, and he has acted like this every night since then. Still, when he saw the resemblance between you and his mother, he took it too far because he thought that you were his mother, and that’s why he kidnapped you yesterday. I am truly sorry for what you faced yesterday.”