*Bexley*

The castle ballroom has an ethereal glow to it. Shimmery and clouded with a blanket of mist, I step into the center of the floor, my long blue ball gown billowing around me. The faces of the crowd around me are obscured by the mist. They don’t quite come into focus, but that’s okay. None of them are important. I hear their cheers above the sound of the orchestra playing in the corner, which I cannot see. It’s all so wispy and dreamlike. I feel like I’m floating on air.

A man steps through the crowd, his face the only one I can see. His smile is genuine, his...