A Girl in White

Richie annoyed by his girlfriend who could not go to the dance with him that he had expected for some time. He turned on the music and sat at the recliner, his eyes closed, tears escaping from the corners as if the music had transported him to some magical and heavenly place. Shortly afterwards, he fell into a dream.

He was sulking a little bit, standing on the sideline while all other men danced with their pretty partners. His girl hadn’t come to the dance that night. Her mother was sick, and so his girl had remained in her side. A fine pious act, he thought sourly, but it left him at a loose end.

His friend, Bryan came up to him with a cold drink and some words of encouragement. “After all, Anita is not the only girl in the world. There are many pretty girls here tonight, dance with one of them as you like.”

Bolstered by his friend’s words, he started looking around the dance hall. His eyes fell upon a beautiful young girl who was standing wistfully at the edge of the floor beside the door to the terrace. She was dressed in an old-fashioned white gown and her skin was pale as the moon. Her dark appealing eyes watched the dance hungrily from her position and he felt his heart beat faster. Such a glamorous girl should be dancing!

He made his way through the hustled crowd and bowed to invite the girl in white. She looked startled by his invitation, as if she had not expected anyone to notice her that night. But she readily assented to dance with him, and he proudly led her out onto the floor. All thoughts of Anita had gone from his mind.

Bryan and some of his other friends gave him odd looks as he danced with none. A few times, the man opposite them bumped right into them as if he hadn’t seen his partner at all. He was indignant and wanted to stop the dance and make the man apologize to the girl in white. But she just laughed and hushed him.

When the dance was over, he hurried to get his fair partner a drink. Bryan approached him at the refreshment table. “When I told you to dance, I meant with a partner,” his friend teased him.

He was irritated by his friend’s remark and replied “I was dancing with a partner, the loveliest girl in the prom!”

“You’ve had too much to drink, my friend, you were dancing by yourself out there!” Bryan replied.

He glared at his friend and turned away without answering him, and making his way back to the girl in white, he handed her a glass asked her to stroll with him along the terrace. The night was absolutely beautiful and the sky was full of stars. He stared at the girl in white with a speeding up heart as they were intoxicated by the beautiful scene together.

A girl in white turned to him with a sigh and said: “Thank you for the dance, senor. It has been a very long time since I had such pleasure.”

“Let us dance again, then,” he said infatuatedly. But she shook her head.

“I must leave now,” she said, catching up her white skirt with one hand and drifting toward the stars at the side of the terrace.

“Please don’t go,” he pleaded and following her.

“I must”, she replied, turning to look back at him. Her eyes softened when she saw the look on his face. “Come with me?” She invited, holding out a pale hand.

His heart pounded rapidly all at once. More than anything in this world, he wanted to go with this lovely girl. And then his mind registered the fact that he could see the impenetrable wall of the terrace through the girl’s hand. His desire melted away before the shock of that realization. He looked into her face again, and realized that she was fading away before his eyes.

Looked at his frightened face, the girl gave him a sad laugh and dropped her hand that was nearly transparent.

“Goodbye,” she said, her body becoming thin and misty. “Goodbye”. Then she was gone.

He gave a shout of the terror when he realized that he had been dancing with a ghost. He bolted from the premises, leaving his bag behind and ran straight to home.

When Bryan came the next day to bring him his bag, he told his friend the whole story of the night. Bryan whistled in awe. “You saw the spirit of Betty, my friend; she was the daughter of the local aristocracy who lived in this region more than a hundred years ago. She died of consumption the night before her first ball and people says her spirit sometimes attends the local dances, hoping to claim one of the dances that she missed.”

He shuddered at the thought of his dance with a ghost. “I will not be visiting that dance hall again,” he told Bryan. “From now on, all my dances will be with Anita!”

He suddenly was awokend from his dream by Anita’s sweet voice. "Darling, it’s time for dinner". In a flash, he cuddled her passionately and murmured: “You are my only girl, only partner”. Anita looked at him with some perplexity without knowing the reason.

Hereafter, he kept his word.