Ep.8 Street Choreography

Illustration: Cristina Daniela Gagiu
Storyteller: Oana Maroti 

Umbra opens the vermuteria´s door and drips from the wall onto the sidewalk and back onto the other wall again. A loud flutter of wings is to be heard, a pelican bird the size of a man shows up and says:

– For you, sliding from one side to the other is like flying, right?

Umbra Mirabelei: Hey, Peli, so nice to see you. Well, yes, we might say that sliding gives me the flying freedom. I´m exercising my shade power. What are you up to?

Pelican: Vrăjălos, there´s an opportunity to exercise, right now. Pssst! there´s a couple passing, some tourists and they have a group of guys following, to rob them, more than certain. We make a team, ok, let´s help them. Remain where you are, let the couple pass, then start your shadow dance, as fast and dizzy as possible. I will wait for them at the end of the street to scare the shit out of them. Laters!

Umbra Mirabelei: Ok, Will keep my shade strenght and maintain position. Laters Peli.

Laughter and high heel steps are getting closer. Indeed a foreign couple is going home after drinks and dinner. They seem pretty distracted, not aware of the danger. As the pandemic is still on, the streets are empty and just a few restaurants remained open. Wind is blowing, the shade slightly shivers when the lovers pass.

Quiet, so quiet that the couple started to behave alarmed, stopping their laughs to have a better listen. Furious steps getting closer made them run as fast as they could and screaming. After that, Umbra Mirabelei stepped forward, occupying the whole illuminated street area and forming a giant, scary shade projection in front of the thieves.

The group froze, one man shouted: Aaa! and remained surprised.

Umbra Mirabelei started to shrink herself towards the group of men, disforming in grotesque shapes. In all that silence a soft cry was to be heard, a jet of pouring liquid into pants and then some drops sound in all that silence.

One of the probable thieves said to the crying other:

– Have a napkin, here you are.

While the man was whipping his nose, Umbra Mirabelei started the classical ghost movie-dance, appearing and disappearing, augmenting shape all of the sudden. The whole thing was just a shade wall projection, but it worked, this group of men are running as fast as they can.

At the end of the road, Pelican flies through the air with his huge bird body. His enormous wings get projected on buildings and on the whole street, making a nice Godzilla impression.