Sitting on the bed in silence, I stared at the faded wallpaper. As alone as I was certain I was, I couldn’t ignore the eerie presence that lingered in the walls, the past impression of moments lived within the tiny box. The walls started closing in, suffocating me, and I inhaled the faint rose scent that failed to overpower the antiseptic air in the stale space. With no one to cling to, I threw myself on the lumpy bed, buried my face in a pillow, and screamed. No escape… They can’t disappear me… They can’t keep me from him… I’ll find a way. My throat closed, smothering a sob before it surfaced, and I knew it was best if my true feelings stayed deep.

I begged for sleep, hoping to wake with a plan to get around Bernard, but sleep never came.

In the morning, my eyes were red and puffy when Bernard escorted me to the makeup trailer.

“What happened to you?” The makeup artist gasped as I slumped into the chair bearing my name. Failing to introduce herself, she tilted my chin upward, examining my swollen eyes.

“I got in late last night and didn’t sleep well. I’m sorry,” I replied.

“It’s going to take a miracle to fix this,” she muttered before disappearing through a doorway.

“I’m sure you’re homesick,” the lady in the makeup chair next to me said. “Don’t worry, though. You’ll make friends soon. It’s hard when everyone’s a stranger, but I promise we’ll be family before you know it.” She extended her hand without looking at me, keeping her head steady as the other makeup artist airbrushed her face. “I’m Crystal Harrison.”

My ears perked up, the name sounding familiar. “I’m Ella Karman.” I accepted her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Ella.” She squeezed my fingers before letting go.

I eyed her cloud of blond hair and white skin, so stark against her red lips. “You play the voodoo priestess?” We would have a lot of scenes together. The movie was about a voodoo priestess who adopts a runaway teenage girl (me).

“I do.”

Recalling a distant conversation stolen from beneath the dinner table, I couldn’t stop staring. “You were a famous actress, but you disconnected,” I blurted.

She smiled, her eyes remaining on the makeup artist. “Once upon a time, yes.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I decided it was time to stage my comeback.” She giggled but quickly shut her mouth when the makeup artist cleared her throat.

“You can do that?” I asked. “I thought once you disconnected that was it.”

She considered me out of the corner of her twinkling eye. “Anything is possible.”

“How?” I exhaled. Tickled by a faint flutter of hope, I wanted to know everything about her.

The makeup artist stepped back, studying her work.