Mask of A Legend (30 page)

As she ran, Stephen just stood there, alone, waiting for an answer to fill his void. That’s when he looked to the heavens and asked, “My God, who is she?”

T
ears of all thoughts with a negative attachment fell from Stephen’s eyes, passing through his pupils for a week straight. Legend had gone, and no one knew where she could be, only because her true image was shown, and nobody quite knew what it looked like. The world still believed that Legend was beautiful, and for that, they’re still looking for her beauty as they passed down the streets, and tried to see if they could spot her face once more. Fans, and girls of all kinds, wanted Legend back, and Stephen prayed every night that his beautiful angel would return to him with the beauty that she once possessed.

Stephen was beyond perplexed about Legend’s beyond beautiful image: she wasn’t beautiful like he thought or saw. He sat in Mark’s house and had a conversation about her, to try and figure out the puzzle to his love for her, to his clouded thoughts about what he really loved about Legend. Stephen had to face reality: good or not, shallow or moral, he had face it.

“Listen, when Dina comes over here, just try and seem like you’re excited to see her again,” Mark said. He put on his overcoat and tightened his bow tie.

“But I don’t love her like I do Legend,” Stephen said, putting on his overcoat also.

“Listen to me, Stephen, Dina’s career has fallen apart, the least you can do is go on this double date with her. I mean, her beauty is real. If what you say is true about Legend’s ugliness, then just forget about her, and move on to new and better things.” Mark walked down the staircase of his mansion. “Are you sure it wasn’t just a bad breakout?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I love Legend. I mean, I think I love her,” Stephen said, passing down the staircase also, and coming across a rock that stood on the last stair. “What’s this?” Stephen picked up the ugly rock.

“Oh, Legend gave that to me a long time ago. It’s a, a, man, I forgot what it’s called,” Mark replied. Stephen stared at the inside of the rock, and saw a dazzling color of purple, that shined its beauty toward him. “It’s an ugly rock.”

“Mark, did you ever look at the rock completely?”

“Why?”

“Well, because there’s a little opening on it. Have a look for yourself.” Stephen handed the rock to him. “It’s just like Legend: it may be hard to look at on the outside, but it’s beautiful on the inside,” Stephen said, a smile coming to his face. “My God, I love her still.”

The doorbell rang.

Mark handed the rock back to Stephen, saying with sarcasm, “Stephen, that was beautiful. Listen, stop trying to put together corny ass analogies, in order to control your confusion.”

He then went to answer the door. He opened it, and in came Dina. “Why hello, Mark,” she said. Stephen paced up to her with a smile.

“Dina, before we go on this date, I want you to answer me a question,” Stephen said.

Dina stood there, in her long, black gown, and smiled. “Sure, shoot.”

“Name three things that you like about me, and be truthful?”

“Why?”

“Just do it,” Stephen replied.

Dina was hesitant on answering. She looked at his tuxedo, and then up to his face. “Stephen, if this is about the way you look in that tuxedo, the answer is you look great.”

Stephen closed in on her, “Just answer the question, okay?”

“Alright. I like the way you look in tuxedos. . . . And I like your smile, and the way it shows your sexy teeth . . . . And lastly, I like your face,” she replied.

Stephen gave out a large smile, confusion vanishing toward his puzzled yet magical love for Legend. He gathered that he fell for Legend’s beauty in the beginning, and for that, it allowed him to want to know her, and at the same time, fall in love with her. Once Legend took the mask off, Stephen saw ugliness, but yet, because he learned to love all of her, he still held the same love, as if she never wore a mask at all.

“Dina?” Stephen asked, Mark looking at him as if he was crazy.

“Yes.” She thought the answer was right.

“You’re a bitch,” he replied. Mark gave out a smile, and Dina gave out a face of anger. “Every girl I’ve dated was just like you. They were fake, and they were nothing but bitches. Then I met Legend, I fell in love with her beauty, only to see that it was fake. But still, she wasn’t a bitch. And now, I realize, that I do love all of her,” he explained. “Goodbye, Dina, and I hope that your so-called modeling career starts up for you again. Very doubtful, but I’ll still pray for you.” He ran out of the mansion and up to his limo. He jumped inside of it and said to the chauffeur, “Take me to the airport, now. But first, I have to do something.”

L
egend finished crying while she packed her bags and got ready to leave for college. Her mother came up to her room, with Legend looking out of her window and seeing Chicago, and said, “Legend, are you sure you’re going to be alright? You can always wait till after Christmas.”

“No, Mom, I’m ready to go. . . . Besides, it’s not like anyone is going to notice me as ‘Legend Conaway’, they’re still looking for that beauty. Thank God I’m changing my name next week.” Legend pulled her bags off her bed. “It’s amazing, no one noticed me: they still believe that Legend Conaway is out there somewhere, beautiful and stunning looking.”

“That’s not what I mean. I mean, are you going to be alright after this whole ordeal with that Drakson boy?” Her mother then sat down on Legend’s bed.

“Mom, I’m over him, just as I’m over everyone who cared for my looks only. Today, I’m going to New York with Jenny, and try to begin my life all over again. I just hope that Jenny isn’t late: I sent her the plane fare three days ago.”

“Legend, Jenny already talked to you today. Something’s bothering you, because you keep on trying to avoid this whole situation of you wearing that – can’t believe I’m saying it – mask,” her mother said when Legend turned to see her reflection in the window. “Personally, whatever wish you made, I believe you. The only ones that know about your mask, and believe it, is that Dina girl, you, me, Jenny and Stephen. For that, I want you to know that you’re not going to be bothered with that lie you made, no one knows what Legend Conaway looks like. . . . I mean, when they showed your face on the screen, at the awards ceremony, I couldn’t even see your reflection in that big mirror on the stage. So, if I couldn’t see it, that means the whole world who viewed it couldn’t see it.”

Legend still stared at her reflection.

“But I wanted them to. . . . Mom, for the first time in my life, I liked my reflection, and I don’t even know why. Maybe it’s because I know now that people see that same image as when I stare at my reflection, and that makes me feel happy.”

The doorbell rang.

“That must be Jenny, tell her I’ll be right down,” Legend said. Her mother exited the room. Legend pulled her suitcases out of her room, and then grabbed a mirror that was on her bed. She stared at it, as her mother returned to her room. “Did you tell her, Mom?” Legend asked, her mother showing sadness in her eyes.

“Yeah, um, it wasn’t Jenny. I think you should come down,” her mother said.

Legend walked past her, ran down the stairs, opened the door, and saw Stephen in her sight.

“What are you doing here? And how did you find me?” Legend asked. Stephen stood there with a shield of tears in his eyes. It seemed like they were in his eyes for days, as his sockets showed a sort of wrinkle to them.

“Legend, I really have to talk to you,” he said, Legend rolling her eyes. She didn’t want to hear his voice no more.

“Don’t you think it’s a little too late for that? You had your chance to have me, but you just stood there and stared at my ugliness, and watched me run away. You didn’t even come after me!” Her eyes formed familiar tears also.

“Legend, the reason why I stood there was that I was confused. I mean, first of all, you didn’t want me to come after you.”

“No, that was before you saw my real image. I wanted you to run after me, but you didn’t, only because I wasn’t beautiful!” she shouted. Stephen held up the rock that she gave Mark. “What’s this?”

He held the rock to her face.

“Legend, I stared at this rock, and I realized you’re like it. You see, it’s beautiful on the inside, and that made me want to fall in love with it all.”

Suddenly, she hit his hand and caused the rock to fall.

“Fuck you. I don’t want to hear your stupid analogies anymore. I don’t want to hear your views ever again. I’m not like this rock, I am beautiful, and you just can’t see that!” she yelled. Her mind was overwhelmed with anger and sadness all rolled into one.

“No, Legend, that’s not what I mean. Listen, I love you for who you are. Don’t you see that? Don’t you realize that I want to spend the rest of my life with you?” Legend’s tears broke away from her eyes and showed themselves to him. “You see, I know the definition of those tears. I know that you want me also, and you’re just too afraid to say it, to take that chance!”

She turned away from him. “You think that you know me so well, when you don’t know me at all. I want a man who will love me for my inner, as well as my outer beauty. . . . Who will worship me, who only wants me from the start.

“That rock is ugly, and you just told me that I’m like it. A girl doesn’t want to hear that she’s just like a rock, that’s just not what you say when you want to win back a love!” she shouted. Stephen’s shield of tears broke also. Legend saw his tears and understood this was it for them. “Listen, I just don’t belong in your lifestyle. . . . A girl has to be beautiful in order to belong there, and I’m not. . . . I’m not allowed in your life . . . and I realized that when I ran away from you and the media.”

“Legend, I love you.”

She slapped him across the face. He felt the pulsating pain from her slap, but he was more hurt that a love, which he loves more than anything, caused physical pain toward him.

“Don’t ever say that to me again,” she cried. “You loved me, but you don’t love me anymore. . . . This wasn’t supposed to be a love story, it was supposed to be about my wish of beauty and that’s it. But then you came along and ruined it, and caused me pain. You say you love me, so easily, when it’s not an easy thing to say. That’s why I don’t believe you.” Her tears fell out even more.

“Alright, I admit, at first I was obsessed with your looks. I mean, you were beautiful and you still are to me. Don’t ask me how, but you are. Then you took off that mask, and I became confused about my feelings for you. Yet I realized that I fell in love with all of you, not just your looks!” he shouted. A taxicab pulled up next to his limo and started to beep its horn. Legend’s mother brought down her luggage and passed by them. She handed it to the taxi driver. Stephen asked, “Where are you going?”

“Um, I’m going to New York, I’m going to college out there.”

“So, you were just going to leave, without even attempting to contact me?”

“Yes. . . . I know it’s early to go, I mean, since Christmas break begins in a little bit. But, I want to begin my life all over again, and I have to get away from Chicago. . . . And I have to get away from you.”

Stephen’s tears rushed down his face more.

He stared at her as she stared at him the same. They both weren’t confused anymore, Legend knew she didn’t belong with Stephen because of her looks, and she believed he only looked for outer beauty. And Stephen wasn’t confused, he knew Legend didn’t think she belonged in his lifestyle anymore, only because of her supposed ugliness. He realized also that Legend believed he only wanted a girl to love, only if she was beautiful. Their stares at each other meant ‘goodbye’. “Well, I gave it shot,” Stephen cried. He walked away from her. He headed down her stairs and looked up at the sky. Suddenly it started to snow as he asked, “Remember when you asked me the three things I like about you most?”

“Yeah!”

“Well, you never asked me the three things that I love about you,” he said. Legend’s tears came rushing down even more. “For what it’s worth, I’m going to answer that.” He slowly walked up to her again, felt her face and said, “I love the way you make me feel when I talk to you, or when I’m near you. . . . I love the way you make me laugh, the way your sense of humor grasps my smile, and lifts it high.” Suddenly, before he kissed her ever so gently on the forehead, he added, “Last but not least, I love your eyes, which weren’t a mask to begin with!” He kissed her forehead. “I love you.”

Stephen walked off and entered his limo and Legend stood there crying. She then walked to her cab, entered it and saw Jenny.

“What wrong?” Jenny asked. Legend still showed tears, staring at Stephen’s limo as it stood at the side of them.

Stephen rolled down his window and stared at Legend. “Goodbye,” he said. The limo drove off into the snowy distance.

T
he taxi drove toward O’Hare Airport, feeling the snow thickening on the road. “You know, Legend, you are a millionaire. You can just get an operation to take away your acne,” Jenny said.

Legend turned to her, smirked, and said, “No, I’m not going to get an operation. Besides, I’m donating all of my money to charity. It’s not mine to spend, I don’t deserve it. The rest that’s left over, I’m going to give to my mom.”

“Well, you know, I could use a few bills,” Jenny joked. Suddenly, Legend began crying again. “Don’t worry, Legend, no one knows about your mask. Everyone thinks it was a prank. No one knows what your true image looks like, and for that, you will do fine in New York.”

Legend wept on her shoulder. “That’s not why I’m crying.”

Jenny lifted her head with her hands, and looked at her eyes.

“Then why the sad face?” Jenny asked.

Legend turned to the window and saw her reflection. “You know, Jenny, I had it all, and all because of that disguise. But throughout this whole career of mine, I’ve learned to respect my true image, and to honor it. . . . When I showed my reflection to the audience at the awards, I realized that I had a burden lifted from me, and that allowed my mind to have some satisfaction to it.

“It’s like, I didn’t care what they thought anymore. But, I did care what Stephen thought. Nevertheless, it turns out that no one believed me, and thought it was a prank. The only one who saw my mask being taken off was the one who I feared the most wouldn’t accept my true self, my true image. That was Stephen,” Legend cried. The taxi pulled up to the airport terminal. “Jenny, I was so afraid to look at my reflection throughout these months. But then you came along, and allowed me to remember my past, my ugly image. For that, it’s like you forced me, somehow, to want to look at my reflection. Then you left, and I didn’t want to look at it anymore.

“The only thing that forced me to want to look at it again was my worst enemy. . . . When Dina saw my reflection, I knew that was it. But I also felt a sort of relief, because I knew I would be forced to tell the world my secret, and that didn’t make me upset.” Legend was trying to explain her whole situation, in order for her confusion to vanish. She didn’t know if she longed for her misery back when she used to stand in her room and feel her acne, thinking about how she didn’t want to go to school and face the bullies again. Did she yearn for her old self or some other self?

“Then what did?” Jenny asked.

She exited the taxicab and Legend followed, saying, “Stephen. I didn’t want to tell him, because I knew there would be a chance that he only wanted my beauty, and that he would be upset if he knew the truth. For that, I felt that what I didn’t know was okay. But then again, Dina forced me to tell him, and the outcome was what I feared the most.”

“Yeah, but didn’t he come back to you, just about half an hour ago?”

Jenny was trying to tell Legend something without actually telling her.

“Yeah, he did,” Legend replied. They walked into the airport. “He did come back for me.”

“And what did he say to you?”

They sat down in the seating area and waited.

“To make a long story short, he told me that he didn’t care about my looks. He said he loved me for me.”

Jenny began smiling and shaking her head.

“Then what did you do?”

“I told him he was lying, and I said ‘goodbye’,” Legend replied.

Jenny took out a piece of paper and a pen. “Legend, do you love him?” Jenny started writing down something on the piece of paper.

Legend stared at her best friend Jenny, and thought of all those talks, and times she shared with Stephen. The puzzle was slowly beginning to fall into place, the last piece to it, that is. Her image was gradually beginning to form in her mind, the image that Stephen saw. “Why does he love me?” she asked in her mind, still staring at Jenny. “Why does he love something that looks so grotesque?” She turned her head and faced a window of the airport. She stared out at the skyline that was over the airport runways, and tried desperately to put herself in Stephen’s position. “Why does he love me?” she asked again. She turned back to Jenny and got ready to answer her.