An Angel In Heaven “I think that’s enough for today, Yuri,” Layla announced after they had spent most of the next morning putting the finishing touches on their Golden Phoenix. “We should rest and save the rest of our strength for the competition. Want to grab some lunch?” Yuri climbed down from the trapeze and headed over to his gym bag. “In a minute,” he said, digging out his cell phone. “I need to make a call. Go ahead, and I’ll meet you there.” Once Layla had left, Yuri checked the time. It was close to noon. The trapeze portion of the festival would begin in about an hour, although he and Sophie weren‘t due to compete until near the end of the competition. If he was to put his plan into action, it was the perfect time. Grinning, Yuri flipped open his cell phone and dialed Sophie’s number. She picked up on the third ring. “Yuri?” she answered, sounding out of breath. “Hey, Sophie, I didn’t call at a bad time, did I?” “No, not at all. Leon and I just finished up our final practice.” “Have you two perfected the Angel’s Maneuver yet?” Yuri asked, feigning interest. Whether or not they had was of little importance to him. If things went according to plan, they would never get the chance to perform it at the Festival. “Almost,” Sophie said. “It’s still not perfect, but I have a feeling I will be able to pull it off this afternoon. Is it strange to think that?” Yuri still couldn’t believe that the two of them had planned to attempt a maneuver they had yet to actually succeed in mastering. Were they taking the competition seriously at all? Logic dictated that competitors come prepared to perform their best routines, not leaving everything to chance on some wild card act. “No, not at all,” he lied. “I’m sure you’ll do great. I look forward to seeing it.” “Thanks. I can’t wait to see your Golden Phoenix with Layla as well. I know it will be spectacular!” “I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations. Anyway, since you’ve finished practicing, how about a lunch date? My treat.” “Lunch? Um, well, I’d like to, but Leon and I already made plans to watch the --” “Leon’s a big boy; he can fend for himself,” Yuri interrupted. “Layla and I will leaving tomorrow morning to go back to the States, so this might be the last time we’ll be able to be alone together for a while. Besides, there’s something important I want to tell you, but I’d rather do it in private.” “What is it? Can’t you tell me now?” “It’s not something that should be said over the phone. I’d rather tell you in person, and I’m afraid if I don’t tell you soon, I won’t be able to properly concentrate on the competition,” he said. “Please, Sophie, I really need to see you.” There was a brief pause before Sophie replied. “Okay, I’ll cancel my plans with Leon. I want to see you too, Yuri.” “Great. Meet me at the park in front of the hotel where I’m staying around, say, 12:30? I might be a little late, depending on how long Layla keeps me here, but I promise I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just don’t leave without me, okay?” “I won’t,” she promised. “I’ll see you in a little while, then.” Yuri smirked. “I’ll be looking forward to it,” he said before ending the call. That was even easier than he thought it would be. Sophie had a lot to learn if she ever wanted to become a champion trapeze artist. It was never a smart idea to trust a competitor, even if you had a crush on them. Knowing Sophie’s personality, she would wait for him at the park until the last possible moment, unaware that he never had any intention of keeping their lunch date. The park was a decent distance away from the arena, so even if by chance she managed to catch a taxi, with all the afternoon traffic, there was little chance she would be able to get back in time to compete. She and Leon would be forced to withdraw, and his plans for revenge against Kalos would remain unthreatened. It was the prefect plan. ***** A couple of hours later, Layla and Yuri headed to the dressing room to change into their costumes. Among the remaining competitors gathered, neither Sophie or Leon were present, which Yuri took as a good sign. He was in the middle of styling his hair when a gofer working for the festival came looking for him. “Yuri Killian?” He set down his comb and glanced over at the young man. “That’s me.” “You have a phone call, monsieur. It‘s apparently urgent.” Beside him at the vanity, Layla frowned. “Who would be calling you so close to the competition, Yuri?” Yuri had a fairly good idea who it might be -- although he thought it was a bit strange that she had called the arena and not his cell phone when she should have had his number -- but he didn’t let on to Layla. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he told her, and followed the gofer to the phone. “Hey, Sophie, sorry I couldn’t make it to our d--” A low masculine voice cut him off. “Sophie is dying.” “What?” Yuri’s eyebrows furrowed. He knew that voice. “Leon, is that you?” “Sophie is dying, Yuri,” the voice repeated. There was no mistaking that it was Leon, but he sounded as if he was on the verge of tears. “Please, you must come to the hospital. She’s been asking for you.” He frowned. “Is this some sort of sick joke, Leon? I know you don’t like me, but I never thought you would sink so low as to lie about something like --” “It’s not a lie!” Leon insisted. Now Yuri was positive he was crying. “She was… She was hit by a car, rushing back to the arena for the competition. Her internal injuries are too severe. The doctors give her an hour, at best.” Yuri had to admit it was a fine performance on Leon’s part, but he knew how cutthroat the competition at the International Circus Festival was. Hadn’t he just pulled the same kind of trick on Sophie? He wasn’t about to believe anything a competitor told him on blind faith. “Listen, if that’s true, then I’m very sorry to hear it, but Layla and I are about to go on stage. I don’t have time to visit Sophie in the hospital. Maybe after the competition, I can --” “She’ll be dead by then!” Leon choked back a sob, but composed himself before continuing. “Please, Yuri, you must know how much my sister cares about you. She was so looking forward to seeing you again. I realize now that you were probably only tricking her in order to make her late for our performance, but even if it is a lie, let her believe that you truly cared about her. Don’t let Sophie die heart-broken! I’m begging you, please…” Yuri tightened his grip on the phone. “I’m sorry,” he managed to croak out. “I can’t. This competition is too important to us.” “Yuri!” He set down the receiver back in its cradle, shaken by Leon’s words in spite of himself. He took in a few deep breaths and reminded himself that in all likelihood, Leon was lying, no matter how convincing he sounded. Sophie was no doubt pissed at him for standing her up, so Leon had tried to get revenge on her behalf by inventing that ridiculous story about Sophie being in the hospital in order to prevent him from competing. Simple as that. Though he hadn’t seen either of them around, Yuri expected to see the two of them alive and well at the competition -- no doubt a setback to his plan. Well, there was nothing he could do about it now except to perform the Golden Phoenix with Layla to the best of his ability. With any luck, the Oswald siblings would fail in completing their Angel’s Maneuver, casting a shadow on Leon’s ability. Still… What if it wasn’t a lie? What if Sophie really was dying, and it was his fault? “Who was it calling you?” Layla asked when he returned to the dressing room a few moments later. “What?” Yuri shook his head, clearing his mind of thoughts of Sophie and Leon. He needed to remain focused on the competition. “Oh, it was just Kalos,” he lied, “reminding us that failure is not an option today.” “I should have known. I hope you told him the competition is as good as ours.” Yuri forced a cocky grin. “Of course.” ***** Somehow, Yuri managed to push Sophie out of his mind to focus on what needed to be done. He and Layla performed the Golden Phoenix perfectly -- not a single misstep. They were by far the best of the couples who had competed, earning a standing ovation from the audience. Nobody else had come even close to matching the power and the passion of their performance. “That was amazing!” Layla said backstage in the wings. “Do you hear that applause? I think that’s the best we’ve ever performed the Golden Phoenix. Don’t you think, Yuri?” “What?” Yuri barely heard her, looking around for any sign of Leon and Sophie. The brother-sister team were supposed to perform the Angel’s Maneuver right after them, the final entrants of the competition. As of yet, neither of them had made an appearance, which Yuri considered strange. If they had wanted to rattle him, surely they would have revealed themselves right before he had gone on stage. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening.” Layla frowned, placing a hand on his arm. “Is something wrong? You’ ve been acting strangely ever since you took that call from Kalos. Did he say something to you?” “No, nothing he hasn’t said before,” he lied. “It’s nothing. I suppose I’m just nervous. After all, our entire future at Kaleido Stage is at stake. If we don‘t win, we‘re out of a job.” “The hard part is over, and we did our absolute best. There’s nothing more to do but await the judges’ decision.” “Right.” At that moment, the lights suddenly dimmed as an official from the festival took the stage. The audience, who was still applauding Yuri and Layla’s Golden Phoenix, quieted to a whisper. Yuri felt his heart drop to his stomach, sensing something was definitely wrong. It couldn’t be… “Messieurs and Mesdames, I have a sad announcement to make,” the man said, taking a moment to compose himself before continuing. “The last pair to perform for you this afternoon was to be the talented brother-sister team of Leon and Sophie Oswald. Tragically, we were just informed moments ago that Sophie Oswald has died of injuries suffered during an accident earlier today. Leon and Sophie had hoped to perform an ‘Angel’s Maneuver’ for you today, but now Sophie has truly become an angel in Heaven. Please, let us dedicate a moment of silence in memory of Sophie.” As everybody else present fell silent and bowed their heads in respect, Yuri held up his shaking hands, staring at them as if they were covered in blood. “No,” he whispered, shaking his head. “No, this wasn’t supposed to happen. I never wanted this…” Layla glanced over at him. “Yuri?” He took a step back. “Yuri, what’s wr--” “Thank you,” the official said on stage, ending the minute of silence. “We will be announcing the winners in an half-hour’s time.” Back in the wings, Layla reached for Yuri’s arm. “Hey, you look a little pale,” she said. “Let’s go see the doctor.” “I’m…fine,” he said, regaining his voice. “I’m fine. I just… I’ll be back.” He pivoted on his heel. “Wait, where are you going?” “Restroom.” Yuri hurried to the nearest men‘s room, which was fortunately unoccupied, and locked the door behind him. He then rushed to the toilet, making it just in time before he hurled. He emptied out his stomach to the point that he began dry heaving, choking on the crushing guilt that had come over him. Once he finally finished, Yuri flushed the toilet and walked over to the sink to wash the foul taste out of his mouth. He left the water running as he stared up at his reflection in the mirror. “It’s not my fault,” he told his fake self. “I didn’t kill Sophie. All I did was stand her up for a stupid date. I was a jerk, but it’s not like I was the one driving the car that hit her. I didn’t want this to happen.” Yuri couldn’t bring himself to believe that, though, and soon tears began streaming down his face. He slumped back against the door, sobs erupting from his body uncontrollably. He had no idea how long he stood there crying, but Layla eventually came to find him and knocked on the door. “Are you in there, Yuri? The awards ceremony is about to begin.” Yuri tore off a sheet from the towel dispenser and wiped away the remaining tears, grateful that the running water had apparently hid the sound of his sobs. “Yeah, I’ll be out in a sec,” he said, splashing some cold water on his face before turning off the faucet. He exited the bathroom to find Layla waiting for him, leaning against the opposite wall. “Yuri, have you been crying?” she asked upon seeing his face, concerned. Yuri averted his eyes, running a hand through his hair. “Don’t be ridiculous.” “There’s no shame if you were. A young woman died today under tragic circumstances. I think everybody here is feeling a little sad, even if they didn’t know Sophie personally.” Layla reached out for his hand. “Come here, you look a mess.” She led him into the empty dressing room down the hall and told him to sit down at one of the vanities. She then pulled out her make-up kit and began slathering concealer and foundation over his tear-streaked face. “Sophie was the ‘maid’ from last night, wasn’t she?” Layla asked in a soft voice. Yuri didn’t respond, confirming her suspicion. “I thought so. Her voice sounded familiar. Oh, Yuri, I’m so sorry…” “Don’t say that,” he said hoarsely, pulling Layla’s hand away from his face. “I don’t want your sympathy. I don‘t deserve it.” “Yuri…” He stood back up and looked at his reflection in the vanity mirror, pretending to put his hair back into place. Layla had done a decent job of covering up any evidence that he had been crying, although his eyes were still slightly red and puffy. “How do I look?” “I don’t think anybody will be able to tell unless they look closely.” “Good,” he said, turning back around. “Thanks.” The two of them headed back to the wings where all the other competitors had gathered to hear the announcement of the winners. Unlike the usual banter that surrounded the awards ceremony, there was a marked solemnity among the contestants -- a few even in tears. Even if Sophie had been their competitor, her sudden death had affected them all. Without thinking about it, Yuri sought out Layla’s hand and was reassured when she gave it a gentle squeeze. As expected, he and Layla were named the champions of the International Circus Festival, but to Yuri, the whole experience seemed surreal, like he wasn’t even there. When they went on stage to accept the trophy, he let Layla do most of the talking, only adding a few trivial sentences at the end of her speech which he promptly forgot. It took the bulk of his concentration just to smile and put on a happy face for the cameras. It should have been one of the proudest moments of his life. After all the years of training and all the sacrifices they had made, they had been named the best trapeze artists in the world. Though winning the title had always meant far more to Layla than it had to Yuri, who mostly saw it as a means to an end, he had looked forward to the moment they would accept that huge trophy, knowing how happy his father -- a previous Festival winner -- would have been of his accomplishment had he still been alive. Yet standing on that stage with Layla, cameras flashing and people applauding… Yuri had never felt less proud of himself in his entire life. DISCLAIMER: Kaleido Star doesn’t belong to me. AUTHOR’S NOTES: Any comments and criticisms can be sent to me at ElysionDream@aol.com.