The Black Parade

As the darkness overcame me, my mind passed out of reality and into sheer bliss. I had no idea what had happened, what was happening, or what would happen, but what I did know was that I was going to make the most of it. I looked around when my eyes finally adjusted, and I gasped, the words of Brandon Flowers still resonating in my ears.

Believe me, Natalie/Listen Natalie/This is your last chance to find/A go-go dance to disco now/Forget what they said in Soho/Leave the oh-no's out

I stepped forward, floored at my ability to walk again. Again, after all that..... I reached up to touch- my hair. I was already in love with the feel of my own silky tresses. I gasped as my eyes were blinded by colour and my ears ravaged with music, driving away the melody of Brandon's voice and the upbeat tempo of The Killers.

This new music, it was insane scary. A few beats into the song-a slow, steady funeral march- I felt tears slipping down my face. Through blurred eyes, I watched millions pass me by, all looking straight ahead, on beat, none faltering.

And suddenly, the colour was gone. At that same instant, a voice sounded, causing me to crane my neck in search of the source, and holding me captive when I laid eyes upon it.

When I was a young boy/My father took me into the city/To see a marching band/He said 'Son when you grow up'/'Would you be the savior of the broken'/'The beaten and the damned?'

Two girls came alongside me, pale faces with raccoon-eyes, thin lips, and hair pulled back into skull-shifting tight buns. They did not speak, though their expressions were grim, and each took one of my arms, leading me to the front of the parade.

I gazed at the singer; an angel clad in black, and looked slowly down at my feet. With a jolt, I realized that I was dressed like my escorts, in a black corset, tutu, and black toe-shoes. My body screamed joyfully from the ecstasy that was the realization of my dream. I joined the dancers, in their ghost-like beauty, and became one with the black parade.

Natalie Flowers, a cancer patient in the Lexanna Memorial Hospital, lost her life-long battle with cancer last Saturday night, despite the fact that she has repeatedly undergone chemo therapy. She was a loved sister and wife, and her death truly marks the beginning of a painful new era for all those who knew her.