She ripped her hands into my face screaming ‘it’s a mask. Take it off, take it off’ Blood trickled onto the carpet. I felt her nails scrape the sides of my face. ‘Take it off,’ she screamed. I could hold it no longer. I leaned in and bit into her hand. She shrieked and pulled away. I grabbed my hands and pushed them back into her face. Clawed at the ivory skin. I left a long scratch down the side of her face. She hissed at me then pushed at me. We fell down the stairs, a petty hissing ball of scratching and screaming. I pushed her away. She grabbed a white mime mask from the shelf and put it on. Blanked out her entire face. And moved towards me.
‘You cannot hide from yourself, Suri!’
‘I’m not hiding.’
‘You say all those things to people. You don’t mean them.’
I laughed and looked into her eyes. But they were shadowed by the power of the mask.