100 Words #5

Agile fingers sprinted across tender silk, smoothing away wrinkles and remenants of ash. Outside, murmurs of activity snaked under her door as a reminder of the nights festivities, for merely steps away gathered a crowd like none other, eagerly awaiting her arrival. If nerves were flowers, her stomach was knotted in roots. Rather abruptly, a keen wind smothered the crackling fireplace and she was bathed in reflective silence. "The show must go on," she sighed. Glancing at the photo of her dearly departed mother for strength, Emma swallowed her nerves and unearthed a taut smile. "The show must go on."