Dancers in the pre-dawn shadows, their feet so light that blades of grass barely nod beneath them.
I saw them once, or I think I did, anyway. They were beautiful, shapes and lines in the darkness, dancing to a whisper of a song echoing from long, long ago. I have no idea how long I watched them, my eyes struggling to take in the details, getting stuck on the movement of a spidersilk thread caught on a wrist, or a twirl of hair obscuring the disappearing morning stars.
Before dawn could truly break, they stopped, having danced a circle into the dewey grass beneath them. They must have seen me, for they all at once turned toward me, and took a bow. One by one they stepped into the circle, and shapes and lines were revealed by the growing light to be merely outlines made of branches and distant clouds.
The last one, she waited just a moment more. I think I saw her lips part, but I couldn't hear what she said. With a small smile, she took one final bow, and vanished.
When I next opened my eyes, dawn had truly broken. I rushed over to the spot, and found nothing... save for a thin circle of disturbed morning dew. I stepped inside, not quite knowing what I hoped to find, but I only found myself shivering against the early chill.
I've had some time to think about it. It's been a long while, and I havent seen them again. But, I think - who wouldn't like to leave that way? Creating one final thing of beauty, however ephemeral, and then taking a bow, and closing the curtains?
