Cupid's Stage

It was the middle of February and a bitter cold had moved in from the Pacific Northwest. Even for the climatically fickle state of Colorado, the weather was unusual, dropping into the low 40’s as a midday high. The streets were lined with ice; a light snow had been falling for days when I discovered that a new theater had opened on the Westside of Colorado springs.
It wasn’t one of those mega-plexes that seem to be taking over the world these days. No, this theater was done in the style of the 50’s theaters. A grandly lit marquis displayed the current films in decadent letters. An old style box office jutted from the front of the building, flashing yellow bulbs moving around the windows. Pulp art signs advertised the films that played on mini billboards set against the walls.
It was unlike any theater I had been to before.
The ticket seller was a lanky skeletal looking man, hunched over and murmuring. His eyes were like the box office, set out of his head. The sparse gray hairs waved in the wind from an electric heater mounted on the ceiling. A red sheen glinted from his forehead as he parted his lips in a cadaverous smile.
“What are you here to see?” Even as he finished his sentence his features seemed to grow more pronounced, as if his eyes were actually extending from his head, followed closely by those awful teeth.
“The Loving Dead, Please.” I was trying to be as pleasant as possible.
“Four dollars, Madame.” His smile grew wider and it was in my attempted avoidance of eye contact, I noticed he was wearing a tuxedo. It was not the bright black of a new suit, however. This tuxedo had embroidery on the sleeves and collar and appeared to be the faded black of clothing many years old. I had seen statues in museums wearing similar looking suits.
He handed me my ticket and change, his eyes seemingly glowing in the reddish light.
“Enjoy the show miss, It IS opening night you know. I believe that you’ll only be one of the few in attendance, however, what with this ghastly weather and all. Unfortunate for such a splendid holiday. Don't you agree? ”
“Holiday? Oh, yeah.” My voice dropped at the recognition of Valentine's Day. "I had quite forgotten actually."
A look of alarm spread across his sunken features.
"Forgot? But, how can that be possible? Who forgets Valentine's Day, but the forgotten? Are you one of the forgotten, madam? I don't see the mark, so you must have been lucky thus far. However, should we continue this chatting, you will miss your feature. Enjoy the film miss. And do be careful in your departure, what with the weather and all." His sickly grin made me shiver.
I managed a polite "And you as well." while moving towards the main doors.
An usher directed me to my theater, his little glowing wand lighting the low-lit hallways approaching the individual theater doors.
"Your theater, miss." He said as he propped open the door to let me in.
"Thank you, sir."

As the door shut behind me, my eyes took their time adjusting to the light, a pale yellow glow illuminating off of hanging tapestries on the walls. Glints of every color sparkled in the pale light, dancing in the eyes of the patrons, some whose faces held wonder, others horror.
Due to their size, I hadn’t yet perceived what the tapestries depicted, only that they were beautifully designed.
The hanging immediately in front of me had a great demon-like creature that actually filled the entirety of the embroidery. It looked massive, the color of bricks and ash with eyes as black as the night tides. In one of its hands it held a quiver of quills and a bow, in the other, a mask resembling the common appearance of Cupid. An eerie green hue seemed to come from behind the beast, shimmering in the light as the heaters kicking on rustled the tapestry. It had a face, most definitely, but this demon was not designed with humanity as its inspiration.
The face seemed like an illusion, out of place on such a muscular body. The features were there, without doubt, but they were not prominent like those of a person. They were more like shadows, as if, should I turn away too quickly, my eyes would never find them again. The mouth was a grin, not unkind in it’s way, but at first glance appeared as a scowl, the type that could peel skin from bones.
Atop the head there sat a crown of liquid flames, seemingly swaying in an unseen gale.
The creature was a biped, staunchly braced on legs seemingly carved from wood. No sign of flesh covered the bottom half of the creature.
I had never seen anything like it.
Gathered around the base of the creature were perhaps 50 small winged replicas of the giant beast, all carrying similarly crafted bows and quills.
I just noticed some creatures in the background. These were beautiful, like faeries and cherubs combined, nimble and lithe they seemed to dance through the sky, some floated on translucent wings near the face of the beast, whispering in his mistakable ears. Emblazoned in the shades of ocean waters, they blended in with the Mediterranean sky that silhouetted the beast, their bows and arrows glistening opaquely.
Turning away, I went to move to my seat when I saw a man standing immediately next to me.
“Oh, Excuse me, sir.” I went to step around, but he stepped back, beaming.
“Madame, Is this not an exquisite piece of work?” He had an accent that sounded like a Romanian vampire from one of those movies. His face was pale, his features delicate. His looks were reminiscent of the floating beings from the tapestry.
“I agree,” Looking to my watch for effect. “The show’s about to start. I should be going to my seat now.” I again moved to step around, but as I did, it seemed he was already standing there.
“Do you not know, Miss, that the posted show time includes 20 minutes margin for patrons to take in these marvelous works? I do believe that information is on the ticket."
Looking at my ticket, it was in fact listed there.
"Oh."
"I don't believe we've met before. I'm Cupid."
"What?" I scoffed.
"No, we have never met. So sad, for one so young not to have tasted pure love." His face was saddened, as if he was actually hurt by this information.
"I, umm...don't really know what to say to that." I realized I was being standoffish.
"Well, my dear this is unfortunate for you, but this year was your deadline. No more flouncing around alone. It is now time to pay the piper, as it were." His face shifted from sadness to malice.
"What are you talking about?" I was backing away, a fear beginning to knot up in my gut.
"I think you know...." Moving closer all the while. "Why exactly do you think you are all here? Every last one of you has cashed it in. There's only so much time before we need more soldiers, before you've all become hopeless in the eyes of LOVE." He said it with contempt on his face.
"This makes no sense at all. How can we be expected to comply to your guidelines if we've no idea it's going on?"
"You all knew. That's why you dated in the first place. But only those who've experienced gut-wrenching pain at the hands of 'true' love will be excused. That is the bargain I made. You have not felt pain yet, but my dear you will, as you spend eternity handing out the sentences of love to the unsuspecting.
"I actually think the conversion into a cherub is more painful than the time spent that way." At that, screams came up from all around as the cherub creatures sprang from the tapestries and grabbed hold of the patrons.
Several died from fear on the spot. Others made horrible sounds of agony as they contorted into the winged creatures that held them.
I was last.
I began to beg, but was silenced with a flick of his wrist.
"I saved you for last because I will make you a queen of love. A veritable Cupid. You will look like me. Act like me. Command these, " with a sweep of the arm "minions. But you will still have your thoughts in your head. And you will remain unable to fight your duties."
"Welcome to eternity, my queen."
I began to change.