Warm, savory aromas of roasted chicken and golden, crispy potatoes envelop my senses like a comforting embrace as I step into the banquet hall. My husband, Macbeth, stands tall among the lords, their chairs scraping against the aged wooden floor like echoes of secrets yet untold. All eyes, like moths to a flickering flame, are drawn to him as he raises his glass, the glint of the goblet catching the light, casting fleeting shadows across the room. Yet, just as the air is thick with anticipation, the grand doors creak open, their sound a reluctant sigh that interrupts the revelry. A messenger walks in, his demeanor trembling like a leaf caught in a storm, and the room falls into a hush, whispers flitting about like restless spirits.
My heart thrums with unease as I catch sight of my husband wiping a smudge of blood from a young boy's cheek, a grim tableau that sends shivers down my spine. I lean closer, straining to catch fragments of their exchange, my mind racing with a tempest of fear. What if something went horribly awry with the task we have set before him? Just then, the messenger’s words cut through the tension like a knife, “The task is done, my Lord.” The weight of those words hangs heavily in the air, swirling around me like a dark cloud, suffocating the light of our celebration as overwhelming thoughts flood my mind, foreboding shadows of what may come next.