A Page from "Good Night, Cicia"

About

:(, leaving the yellowed paper even more fragile.)...In another theater, Juliette was dazzling the crowd... Yet not far away, Mr. Leon, midway through his new performance, went blank—his lines evaporated. Strangely, under the stage lights, his stunned silence seemed to hold the audience captive. Perhaps some men are destined to err beneath the spotlight.This reporter, seated far from the stage, can hardly claim to understand. Good night, everyone—may tomorrow's actors fare better.(Scrawled in the margins, tiny and furious: Fools! It wasn't a lapse, it was a silent soliloquy! You wretched philistines—go watch your Juliette! And you—your vulgar soul shall never again screech its jarring noise!)