People ignore what happens after twilight. The night harbors mysteries, which unfold in fantasies, and where tiny and spectral beings awaken.
When the darkness deepens, and the cold takes hold of everything around them, voices emerge asking for help as a glimpse of life. Ronald unexpectedly witnessed one of these wondrous events, rarely seen by a mortal.
He was a security officer working the night shift at a museum. He led a simple, unexciting life, with nothing out of the ordinary. His only thought was to raise enough money to visit his family in Liverpool; he wanted to see them, if only for a few hours.
Ronald was nothing special; he was a middle-aged man of average height and a tired appearance. He spent his time wandering among art portraits and sculptures for entertainment. He would drink coffee like a vampire to blood, and then sit for hours letting his imagination run wild.
Several times he would break policies by drinking alcohol within working hours. "What a treat!" he would say with each sip. The clock broke the silence, it was already midnight. Ronald didn't know it, but that night the moon transformed into a supernatural fountain.
The sparkles were nailed to the statuettes. A warm atmosphere flooded the place turning it into a summer morning. And then? The silence was snatched away. Came the laughter, the footsteps, the murmurs, and the knocking.
"What the hell?" inquired Ronald with a start. He clutched his club, which was his only weapon, and began to stroll toward the source of the noise.
He reached the room of French statuettes and blanched at what his eyes saw.
"What is this?" he shouted in amazement. A dance was manifesting itself in the middle of the hall.
The dancers were small, appearing to be less than thirty centimeters tall. They wore colorful period costumes, with beautiful and imposing embroidery. The women wore flowers on their wide hats and in the center of their lace-trimmed necklines.
The men were covered with elegant vests and wigs so long and silvery that they looked like a piece of diamond illuminated by the moon. They were all laughing and dancing gracefully as they glided across the dance floor in a heavenly fashion.
"Hello, how are you?" said a soft, delicate voice speaking to Ronald. The security officer reacted immediately, looked down, and spotted a small lady.
"Ehh... I'm fine... thank you," replied Ronald a little confused.
"First time here?" the small woman asked. "I've never seen someone so tall before. My name is Monique, nice to meet you."
"Ronald," this time her voice denoted more assurance.
She smiled and watched the people dancing intently. "I'm always left without a partner in this dance, I wish I could enjoy it with someone," Ronald sensed a lot of sadness in her. "My fiancé left a long time ago and hasn't returned, since then I've been accompanied by loneliness."
"I'm so sorry," Ronald mused. "I hope it wasn't another woman, because if it was, then he's an idiot."
Monique stared at Ronald and bestowed a smile. He began to detail her and found her to be very beautiful. She looked like a little doll with skin as smooth as porcelain. Her hair was brown, long, and curly. Her nose was snub and tiny, and with her height, she looked much smaller. Her eyes were brown and beautiful, but sad; Ronald imagined the times she had to endure this moment alone.
"I don't know how to do it, but... would you like to dance with me?" Ronald asked the little lady. She smiled, stretched out her little arm towards him and that was how she gave her answer.
There was no music, but the little dancers in the room didn't need it. They moved gracefully, amid laughter and murmurs that parted between exhalations of rapture and energy. Ronald took the little woman in his arms and began to take simple steps, they didn't compare to the others, but that didn't matter.
"You're a great dancer," Monique said in a sweet tone.
"And you are very beautiful," Ronald replied. Monique blushed and looked down in embarrassment.
After the dance, the two stayed to talk. The chatter between the two repelled the chatter of the other participants in the room. The night became a precinct of romance as couples crowded together in a rhomboid shape.
Ronald and Monique only smiled throughout the evening, but time passed quickly and once again dawn returned. All the little people in the room began to take their original places with their partners, making graceful movements as they quickly returned to their unique marble form.
Ronald looked around anxiously, then spotted Monique's little face; she looked happy and smiling.
"Thank you for giving me this lovely evening," she asserted, taking one of Ronald's fingers. "We'll always have London after midnight," and as she said these last words, her body turned to pure marble.
Snatches of melancholy sighs were dismissed from Ronald's mouth. He embraced Monique, kissed her on the forehead, and then placed her in a conspicuous place. On the evening of that day, when the clock gave its frequent nightly chime, Ronald stood waiting in the figurine room.
Ten, twenty, thirty, even almost an hour passed, but nothing extraordinary happened. Disappointed, he decided to get up from the floor and get some alcohol. As he took a few steps, a simple, sweet voice stopped him; it was Monique, with a more realistic stature and a more beautiful dress.
