I heeded his warning. I took the road toward Natarula and boarded a horse carriage headed to the contest ground. The ride to the contest ground felt longer, and I kept glancing out the window like some sort of amateur detective, half expecting a masked criminal or a wild bush animal to jump out and demand my life or, worse, shred my dress to filth. I had no plan for self-defense besides screaming and throwing my shoe in place of a missile. I was already fighting my nerves. I could not stop hearing that masked man's voice.
Would I have lived if I had ignored him and taken the other road instead? As much as I wanted to forget him, his words would find it way back in my head.
For the record, he was staring at my naked body with absolutely no shame at all, and the nerve of that bastard still made my face burn every time the memory popped up.
By the time I arrived, my luck had already started nosediving. I was late in a none fashionably kind of late. I had missed the final rehearsal that was supposed to warm up my voice before going to stage.
There were only thirty minutes left before my turn.
I found a seat among the other contestants, and glad to see my mum already at the front role of the crowd after peeking through the tiny space of the stage curtain. I started voice practicing and doing all the awkward jaw stretch. I barely had time to collect myself.
My palms were so sweaty I was starting to worry I would short-circuit the microphone immediately my voice gets out of the loudspeaker.
I rub my hands against my gown, blowing small puffs of air, like that would magically slow down my racing heart.
I peeked through the thick velvet curtain, and parted my lips the moment my eyes caught the massive crowd.
The entire venue was packed to the fullest. They were clapping and waving banners for their favorite contesters. And the girl on stage has an angelic voice that I am convinced even birds would go quiet.
She already had fans. She probably had merch. Meanwhile I was just a panicked mystery girl from the outskirts who had only recently stopped shaking long enough to tie her shoes.
The energy out there was both dazzling and completely terrifying. All I could think was please dear heavens do not let them remember me as the girl who fainted before even reaching the mic. That would be the story of my life.
I took a closer look at the girl arguing with some men to my left and the moment I caught sight of her face I stiffened and gasped slapping my hand over my mouth before any sound could escape and make me look even more ridiculous than I already felt.
For a split second I thought I was hallucinating due to nerves or dehydration or perhaps the emotional aftershock of seeing someone belt out a note like it was nothing while I was over here sweating through my dress. But no she was real. She was not just real she looked almost exactly like me.
My eyes widened as she broke away from the men and started running weaving through the backstage area like someone who had memorized every possible exit route. Her face was partly obscured by a mask. I stood frozen completely stunned trying to convince myself that I was not having some kind of identity crisis.
The resemblance was too uncanny that I half expected someone to tap me on the shoulder and tell me that I'm looking at my clone. I wanted to chase after her and ask her a lot of questions, but I couldn't.
Moments later I heard her voice. She was singing onstage and it was beautiful so beautiful that it left me shaken. Her performance was flawless and her voice carried a depth that impressed the crowd. I felt a knot tighten in my chest. Could I ever surpass that? Doubt crawled into my mind eating away at my confidence.
I grabbed a random piece of cloth lying nearby and clutched it tightly. "Hey excuse me" a voice called out snapping me back to reality.
I turned to see a man standing nearby. He had rugged jeans rubber gloves and was carrying a pair of heavy bags. His scent a mix of cologne and something earthy drifted over to me. His gaze met mine briefly before he looked away and carried on with his task lugging the bags toward a nearby exit.
"Hi my name is Miwa" I blurted out nervously But he did not respond. He simply nodded and walked away disappearing into the distance. I watched him go his silhouette fading as he moved toward what looked like a storage area or a farm.
Then I heard my name being called. "Miwa!" My mom's voice broke through my panic. She was in the audience waving and cheering loudly. "You can do this You've got this!" she shouted.
I faked a smile, and my nerves were still a mess.
My mom caught my eye again and she made a simple gesture with her hand, to inhale and exhale. I mirrored her taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, and it reduces just a little pinch of panic.
The lyrics of the song I had rehearsed a thousand times began to fade from my mind. I stepped forward onto the stage with a pounding heart. The crowd went silent immediately I started singing.
The silence was deafening as I finished the final note. And then as if a dam had broken the crowd erupted into cheers and applause. I stood there stunned by the energy of their response.
All I could think about was that girl that looked so much like me. Only her black hair and mask distinct us.
As I returned backstage my thoughts were a whirlwind. My mom rushed to meet me pulling me into a tight hug. She kissed my forehead, and giggled like a teenager. "You were amazing Miwa I am so proud of you!"
But she noticed quickly that my focus was not on her or the victory. "Mom" I whispered my eyes scanning the area. "Did you see her? That girl doesn't she look so much like me"