theatre, minus

She walked into the theatre as they were preparing for the days performance. In the auditorium the lights were all on, enabling the pre-performance cleaning staff to vacuum the floor and the maintenance staff to check the lighting, the sound system. The seats were a deep red cloth with black and blue lines. She sat in the dark corner of the box and waited. The theatre opened its doors at 7PM and people began to enter the theatre around 7.15. She left the box and went downstairs to the main bar. Ordered a glass of white wine, a packet of chocolate raisins and a sandwich. She chatted to waitress as they began taking their seats, “is it ok to wait a little longer? my boyfriend is late…” “let down again?” “he’s new and I’m not sure how reliable he is…” “Oh, sorry to hear that, but men always seem unreliable…” She leaves and goes to serve her late customers. She never notices the woman leave. She imagines that the boyfriend arrived. Through a service door, down stairs and floors to the dark storage room. Into the corridor that runs behind the dressing rooms. The artists and support are all watching Daisy spin in the air admiring her white swan. She slips into her dressing room past the star on the door. It’s empty. She puts a drop of clear liquid into the Bottle of water on the table. Slips out of the room back into the service corridor. Waits as the applause reaches a crescendo, hides as some staff members pass by in the dark. The applause dies down. She watches Daisy enter her room takes a drink from the water bottle and collapse on the floor with a heart attack, dies before they can resuscitate. She goes back upstairs and leaves the theatre through the main entrance, there are a dozen or so people leaving the theatre for a cigarette outside. She wanders off into nkono-garden. Taking off her glasses in the crowd, Turning her jacket inside out. Wondering why they had sent her to do this….