The wedding




The nervousness had gotten the best of him, all through the day he had small feint spells and now his knees buckled as his body shook slightly.
An old and very familiar voice sounded in his head, "C´mon buddy, it´s high time, I have guided you this far, the last steps you have to take alone,  face me and let go of the mask,"
Slowly the raccoon turned to face his mirror, standing 6'4" tall, dressed in a sharp looking black tuxedo, a black top hat and covering his natural mask was a black ribbon, fitted perfectly over his mask, invisible to the eye except for the small tie on the back of his head which was covered by his hat.
Carefully he touched the ribbon, it felt exactly like his own fur, looked just like it, the tailor had done an amazing job.
He was standing in a well-lit room, aside from the mirror there was a chair and a small table with a few items laying across it, a comb, some hair gel, a small ribbon which he had decided against wearing.
The raccoon was all alone except for his mirror image that started speaking again, "She is the best thing that has ever happened to you, I know its hard to say goodbye my friend. but you have to step through that door alone, face her, and promise her the heart that she already stole, you know you have stolen hers as well, so face it,  back straight, and go for it,"


He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and faced away from the mirror towards the white door and took a step, he could feel something warm fall away from his shoulders and knew instantly the bandit had left him.
Turning the handle slowly he stepped into a large room, divided in two by a red carpet, music started playing as he made his way down the carpet to the altar, seats placed on both sides of the carpet, left for the groom right for the bride, but since he barely knew anyone here and his family was practically non existent most of the guests where the brides, seated where they felt comfortable, when walking down he recognized only a few of the guest, finally his eyes found her mothers, she smiled brightly at him, nodding softly giving him the courage he needed. Straightening his back once more he stepped on, making his way to the altar which was covered in white roses, he had to fight the dizziness again and somehow he managed to make it all the way, turning around to face the two doors that were placed at the entrance, right where the carpet started.
The lights slowly dimmed as he felt the warmth of a small spotlight on his body, two larger lights made their way to the door and the music started playing.
His breath halted when they opened, a small girl carrying a brown wooden basket tiptoed out with a bright smile, scattering white and red rose petals on the carpet, following her was his bride, her arm securely latched on to her fathers as the slowly made their way towards him.


Her vision nearly blinded him, a brilliant white dress, adorned with white roses and a small silver ribbon tied around her waist, a veil over her gorgeous features obscured them from view, but her long curls hung out loosely over her back.
Her tailor somehow managed to find a way to let her tail be free, and it mesmerized many of the guests as it slowly almost hypnotically wagged with excitement and happiness.


It all became too much for him, looking around for something to hold on to but unable to find anything he just sank to one knee to keep himself from falling over while his gaze stayed fixed on his wife to be,  the crowd gasped loudly when he nearly went down and he could see his bride trying to rush towards him, being held back by her father who whispered something in her ears, she nodded and did her best to keep the slow pace.


as the reached the three steps to the little platform the altar was on she turned to her father and with the veil still over her face she kissed his cheek before he made his way to join her mother.


Finding the strength somehow to rise to his feet again a tear rolled out of his left eye, again he marveled at the quality of the tailors work, the ribbon did not absorb the tear as it flowed freely down his cheek onto the ground, he reached down to offer his paw, helping his bride up the steps.
A wide smile crawled onto his face as she gracefully placed her paw in his and stepped up to stand beside her husband to be.


The music stopped and he was handed a microphone, facing his bride he spoke, "We raccoons are born with a mask we can never take off, it helps us change situations that are otherwise unsalvageable, or hide from unwanted eyes.  I had promised you on the day we met that I would never hide anything from you, that I would always support and protect you, always make you as happy as possible, and even though it tried to do all those things it was you who made me happy, who supported me and who protected my heart from anything that was after it,"
"Later I promised you that if I ever would be able to take off my mask I would do it only for you, and I have found a way,"
Letting go of her paw he reached under his head, untying the knot and letting the ribbon fall away from his face, then he carefully wrapped it around her wrist, "There is a message inside of it, when the day is done, please read it my dearest and only love."


a short round of applause rang through the room, most of what happened them became a blur, faintly he remembered answering the priest's questions with "yes" and "I Do"
When the time for the rings came both of them looked at the door again, her son made his way in slowly, shyly, carrying a red pillow with two golden rings on it, as soon as he spotted his mother he nearly let go of the pillow, holding it in only one paw as he raced over to her, crouching down to lift him up in her arms and kissing him with her veil still closed, the family had been smart enough to tie the rings to the pillow.
Mother came over to collect the boy and the ceremony continued after the guest where done with their, "awwwhhs" and laughter, and then for the finale he raised her veil, stared long and deep into her blue-green eyes as his heart simply refused to beat anymore, then his lips found hers as the crowd cheered loudly, applauding them, some cried out loud, but all that existed this very moment was his wife, Finally his wife.
she pressed herself closer to him and he, in turn, wrapped his arms fully around her small frame, enjoying her warmth, her scent, her very existence.


The festivities started as the guests made their way to a larger room, filled with grouped tables that were set, in the middle a large wedding cake decorated again with white roses and two figures in black and white, after the cutting of the cake he took her paw for the first dance together as an official couple,  halfway through the song her parents and other guests joined in, so much happiness in this room, in this world.  he had never expected to be part of this.


All if it went by in a haze to him, as slowly the guests started leaving he took his partners paw,  untying the ribbon from her wrist and holding it out to her.
Stitched on the inside with a golden thread where the words, "There never really was a choice when it came to you."  she knew by now what that meant, and finally, his wife let her tears run free.
It was something she had always managed to avoid up until now, making his love for her grow once again.


One of their greatest wishes had come true, now they were a real family.