“Oh!” I exclaimed. “What?” my husband Al asked me. “We have been invited to a ball! I cried, waving the invitation dramatically in the air. “Do they still have those?” Tony asked me. “I guess so.” I replied. “This one is celebrating Tony and Gloria Stine’s daughter’s eighteenth birthday. Elaine wanted a ball instead of a normal birthday party. It is being held at the Garden Inn right here in Albany. Formal attire is required.” Al rolled his eyes at me. “Bri, I have nothing formal.” he stated. I was well aware of that problem. “We will rent.” I said. More comical eye rolling from Al came. “Elaine is my god child, Al” I said. “We have to go. After all, a ball does not happen in south Georgia every day, you know.” I informed him. He laughed. “Whatever your highness wishes. I refuse to rent a horse and carriage, though.” he stated. I cracked up. Men.
So, we went. Al looked spectacular in his white tux and I complimented him with my bejeweled lilac evening gown. It was an intimate affair, about twenty couples. Many, I did not know, they were Elaine’s friends. Tony and Gloria Stine were our best friends. Al loved Tony and I adored Gloria. We had been friends for a lifetime, it seemed. Two other couples were around our age, ancient, compared to eighteen, I know. Our forties plus group hung out by the punch fountain and gabbed. We met Andy and Belle Jangler and Sarah and Pete Gibson. Two very nice couples. Al and I danced a bit and enjoyed the ball. The food was to die for and they had a chocolate fountain. Al had to drag me away from it. Crystal decorations abounded and everything was glittering and sparkling. “Wow, Gloria, you really outdid yourself on this one.” I told her. “Well eighteen is once in a lifetime, you know.” Gloria said. I agreed. We all danced, ate and drank the night away. Soon, it was twelve and time for all to leave. Most of the younger couples had left and our forties plus group was soon heading for the door.
“What a marvelous ball, Gloria. I loved it. Elaine and her boyfriend had a great time, I could tell.” I said. “I am so glad you two came and liked it!” Gloria exclaimed. We exited out of the double doors and onto the front lawn of the Garden Inn. Eight gasps escaped into the night from our four couples group simultaneously. All of us stood and stared, wide eyed and mouths gaping open. There was a huge golden glowing ball. It shimmered and appeared to be made of dense mist so thick, all we could see was shining golden light. It was two stories tall and about five hundred feet wide. “A mist ball.” I whispered, quite dazed by the sight of it. Al recovered from his shock and said “What a beautiful decoration, Gloria.” Andy chimed in asking “Where did you get this from?” followed by Sarah exclaiming in a wondrous voice “Magnificent!” Pete and Belle both yelled “Wow!” at the same time. Gloria said in a quiet voice “We didn’t do this. I don’t know what that is or what is going on.” Tony looked around at all of us and asked “Did you guys do this?” All of us shook our heads no at the same time.
“Maybe Elaine’s friends did this.” I stated. “But, they are all gone.” Gloria told me. “What in the heck is that thing?” Pete asked us. None of us had an answer. We stared in awe for a few minutes. “This is ridiculous.” Tony said. “Someone is playing a joke on us, it seems. Before any of us could utter another word, Tony stepped into the ball of mist. He was gone. He disappeared. Al ran around to other side, to see if Tony had just walked through the mist ball. He came back shaking his head. No Tony. Wow. We all waited for a minute in silence, wondering what to do. Gloria said “This has to be a prank. You know Tony, he was probably in on it. I am going in and stop this all right now. I will be right back and you will know it is all alright.” She stepped into the golden glowing ball of mist and disappeared, just like Tony did. Minutes passed. Nothing. Andy and Belle’s driver came up and said “I hope I am not intruding, but what on earth is that thing, I have to ask.” We told him that we did not know. We explained that Tony and Gloria had not came back out yet. “Should we call the police?” Sarah asked. Her husband Pete shook his head. “If it is a birthday prank, we would all feel silly, wouldn’t we?” We all agreed. We waited.
The driver for Andy and Belle said “I have an idea. I have a tow rope in the car. I know it sounds weird, but what if you tied it around my waist and I walked into the ball? You can count for one minute and yank me out. At least, maybe I can see what is going on and come back out that way. What do you think?” Al asked the driver if he was sure that he wanted to do that. “Oh, sure, I am dying to know what in the heck is going on. It has to be a big joke. What fun.” He laughed. Soon, he was walking into the mist ball slowly. It swallowed him. We counted slowly, one minute passed, and we drew the rope back out. It was without the driver. The rope was still tied in a ring, but empty. Belle and Sarah screamed. “Ok, noone else goes in there.” Al stated. All agreed. We waited for a few more minutes then called the police. Belle, Sarah and I were shaking. Al led us all back into the ballroom. We waited. We were afraid to go back outside. The police arrived and came into the ballroom. “What seems to be the problem?” one officer asked us. “Didn’t you see it?” my husband Al asked. “See what?” the officer asked. We all went outside and the mist ball was gone. It had vanished. We stared in disbelief.
After enduring hours of questioning from the officers, it was obvious that they did not believe us. “So, you all had been drinking?” one officer asked. “Have you all done any drugs tonight?” the other officer asked us. It was horrifying and we were getting nowhere. “If you do not find your friends by tomorrow, come by and fill out a missing person’s report.” one officer said. We nodded. By this time, it was after three in the morning and all of us wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. The story did seem farfetched and we did not wish to take a trip to local mental hospital for the night, if we persisted. Obviously, that is where we all were headed, if we kept telling our story. We left. Andy and Belle drove the car they had hired back to their house. The rest of us all went home, too. Tired and very scared. I felt like I failed, but could not say why. We all did what we could.
The next day, around one, after lunch, I called Gloria. I almost fainted when she answered the phone. “Gloria, you are there!” I screamed. “What is wrong with you, Bri?” she asked me. “Of course I am here. Where else would I be?” “But, you disappeared into the mist ball last night.” I said. “What?” Gloria asked me. I went into the story of what had happened. “Gloria said “Bri, Tony and I left right after the ball.” I was stunned into silence. Gloria had no memory of the mist ball or anything to do with it. I murmured a good bye and hung the phone up. I told Al and he said “Well, at least she is safe. I’d leave it alone, if I were you, Bri.” I tried to. No dice. I made a call to car company where Andy and Belle’s driver worked. Charlie was his name. I asked for Charlie and the boss told me that Charlie had called in sick for the day. “Did you talk to him?” I asked. I was answered with a laugh and a “Yes.” “Lady, I have known Charlie for ten years. I know his voice. He is fine.” I thanked him and hung up. Whew. At least everyone seemed to be here. How could that be? Just be glad that it is so, I told myself. I must drop this. I know we all could not have imagined this, but does it matter now? Al and I discussed it and decided to just forget it. We can’t explain the unexplained. We agreed. “Some ball, Bri.” Al kidded me. I was not amused.
A few more days went by and Al had called Tony to come help him with a garage repainting project. They always helped one another and enjoyed the time together. Tony called back to confirm a time and I happened to answer the phone. “Thanks, Tony, Al really appreciates your help.” I said. “I love helping and he always helps me.” was Tony’s reply. “Tony, do you remember the gold mist ball we saw at Elaine’s birthday party?” I just had to ask. “Bri, don’t mention that again. I am sworn to secrecy.” came the strange reply. “So, it was a joke?” I asked. “No joke. You are not going to let this rest, are you?” Tony asked me. “No. I need to know.” I said. “They took us. They tested us all night long. Asking questions. They were in gold spacesuits. Very short. Very smart. Not of this world. I remember them telling us that we would not recall this time in our lives. My wife, me and Charlie were there. I told them things that I had no idea that I knew. It was horrifying, but we were told to remain calm and that we would not be hurt. They had an interest in parties and social events, it seems. When it was over, we were told to close our eyes and count down from ten to one. Along three, I had an allergy attack. I started coughing, sneezing and when I got to one, the entire mist ball wavered, shook and dissolved. Gloria and I were in our beds. In our bed clothes. Gloria doesn’t remember a thing. She thinks she left and we drove home. Our car is in the drive. I didn’t drive it. Anyway, I am telling you this, hopeful that you will let it go. I remember everything. I really wish I didn’t. You must keep this secret. I get the feeling if we spread this story, they will come back. Bri, I never want them to come back. I have never been so scared in my entire life. Please. Let it go. Promise me that you will?” he asked. “Alright, Tony. You have my word. I am so sorry.” I said. I heard a small sob on the other end of the phone, then a sniff. “I will tell Al that you will be over soon.” I said.
I think about it a lot and I can’t help it. It could have been any of us there, walking into that mist ball, thinking it was a joke. I don’t talk about it. Who would believe it? I never told Al. I would rather that he remain innocent of the knowledge. I just had to know. I think that the next time that I get an invitation to a ball in the mail, I will pass. My lovely normal life is quite a pleasant ball of it’s own. Dancing, laughing and memories. Mine. Gloria seems to not know a thing and Tony is right. It is best. I think Gloria would have a nervous breakdown if she remembered. I needed to know what happened, but one thing about it, it never even crossed my mind to walk into that ball of mist. I knew better. Score one for human instincts. Mine are sharp. It is all about survival. I remember that. I remember it all.