The music throbbed through the floorboards and skimmed over the bodies of a pressed in crowd, no longer individualized but branching together in a group of swaying motions. The white light strobed above and cut everything into chunks, stuttering pieces. In this pulsing air, fragmented light, haze of smoke and din of sweat some spark of newness assaulted me. Originality or something akin to the taste of a first kiss slithered around and sought refuge in bright eyes. Too many.

My ears popped, and adjusted to the loud voices of the instruments. After just a few moments the noise separated into layers, each so thin and ethereal that I could almost get lost in that subtlety. Switch on. To follow – rampant, intruding thoughts orbiting my swollen head. Once thrown, the switch was stuck on. All that distraction got in the way of processing, knowing the harmonies. All I could muster was reaction, a cluster of goosebumps formed along my exposed arm.

I recognized the gorilla head attached to a body clad in a dark tuxedo. He hovered near the window, backlit by streetlights and that swollen moon. Even though I couldn’t see his face, I could feel his eyes eyes on me, watching me walk. He followed the sway of the purple fringe of my dress and lingered on my fishnet stockings. I was cold, but I pulled that shawl off my shoulders anyway.