The Woman in White

Hector was sulking, standing at the sidelines of the grand dance hall while all the other men danced around with their pretty partners. He wouldn't be joining them anytime soon, not this night. His beloved, Anita, had not come to the dance. Her mother had fallen ill, so Anita had deigned to stay behind and take care of her mother. Sure, this was certainly a pious act- but what of poor Hector, who was left to go to the party alone? This left him in a foul mood indeed, and he was intent to sit there and brood for the whole night.

Eventually, his friend Ernesto came to him between sets, carrying with him a cold drink, and with his smile- some words of encouragement. He passed the drink to Hector and patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Why don't you go out there and dance, Hector? Anita isn't the only girl in the world, you know? There are so many pretty women here tonight. Go on, go dance with one of them!"

Hector frowned, but his friend had a point. Anita had abandoned him, hadn't she? Yes, she certainly had good reason, but he was oh so lonely, and horribly humiliated. He glanced around the dance hall furtively, looking for a potential partner, until his eyes met with a beautiful young woman who stood alone, much like he. She stood around the edges of the party, sulking behind a fern near the terrace. She was dressed in a grand, old fashioned white gown, her face as pale as the moon with long hair framing sparkling, dark eyes. She seemed to be without partner, watching the dance floor as enviously as he had been only moments before.

Hector downed his drink, smiled to Ernesto, and made his way through the bustling crowd to meet with the white-clad woman. He bowed with a grand flourish, and the woman gasped in surprise, as if she'd not expected anyone to notice her that night. She was quick to smile and take his offered hand, Hector proudly leading the beautiful woman onto the floor for the next set, banishing all thoughts of his beloved Anita from his mind.

The pair had received many an odd look from the other people; Hector had decided they were likely jealous of his good fortune to have happened upon such a lovely woman. A few times, a couple opposite them bumped into her as if they'd not seen the woman at all. While Hector was intent on making the couple apologize, the woman in white simply laughed and hushed him, returning them to their dance. After their dance was over, Hector made his way back to the refreshment table to get this fair woman a drink. Ernesto approached him, chuckling. "When I told you to go out and dance, I meant for you to go dance with a woman" He teased.

"I was dancing with a woman!" Hector huffed. "The loveliest girl in all of Atmētztl."

His friend shrugged, and laughed. "You've had too much to drink, my friend."

Hector decided he'd had enough of Ernesto's ribbing, and stormed off, making his way back to the beautiful woman in white. He offered her a glass, and ask her to take a stroll with him along the terrace. The night sky shimmered above with the the moon hanging delicately over the beautiful scene. He draped a wing around the mare, gazing at her with his heart in his eyes. She turned to him, and smiled softly.

"Thank you for the dance, Señor. It has been such a long time since I'd had the pleasure."

"Then lets dance again, out here." He replied, but the woman shook her head.

"I have to leave..." She pulled at her the skirt of her gown, and began making her way down the stairs of the terrace. Hector followed, pleading with her. "Don't go!"

"But I must-" She turned back to look at him, and her gaze softened upon seeing the sorrow upon his face. She bit her lip, considering, then smiled, holding out a pale hand to him. "...come with me?"

He could hear his heart pounding in his ears- more than anything he wanted to go with this beautiful woman. He took a few steps forward, ready to join her, until he realized he could see the stone of the terrace wall through the woman's body. His desire instantly melted to shock, a look of horror coming upon his face as he watched the girl fade away before his eyes.

She gave a weak sad laugh, dropping her hand, eyes fixed on the ground.

"Goodbye" she whispered, body becoming a thin mist before vanishing completely.

She was gone.

Hector gave a shriek of terror, bolting off in the opposite direction. He raced through the dance hall, out the door, hopped on his horse, and rode home as quickly as he could. Ernesto came by the next day to check on his friend, given the man's strange behavior the night before, to which Hector told him the whole story.

Ernesto whistled, and smiled. "You saw the spirit of Consuela, my friend. She lived here about a century ago- died of consumption before her very first ball. People say her spirit sometimes attends local dances, looking to claim one of the dances she's missed."

Hector shuddered. He'd spent the night dancing with a ghost, it seemed.

"I'll never go back there again." He declared. "From now on- all my dances will be with Anita."

---

This is an adaptation of a Mexican ghost story.

You can read the original story here!