The woman who hired me to be her bridesmaid didn’t like the way I looked.

Maybe I was a little frumpy from my flight, but the way she was eyeing me up and down in the terminal had me reconsidering my decision to come thousands of miles from the comfort of my couch to be this woman’s bridesmaid.

“Hi, I’m Winona!” I said, trying my damndest. “You can call me, Noni.”

She glowered at me for a moment.“What’s wrong with your hair?”

“My hair? I might’ve slept on it-”

“No, it’s red. And your face is not symmetrical. Not like your instagram pictures.”

“Oh. Actually that’s not me. That’s my friend, Jenna. I’m filling in for her. She didn’t tell you?”

The woman appraised me again. Looking at my body as if I were an undersized cattle at auction. I turned to the side and gave her a half-smile, deeply uncomfortable.

“Maybe we should call Jenna and work this out...”

“No, you’re already here,” she said before flashing a smile. “I’m Cassia. But you can call me Cassie. Cassie and Noni, I like that. Here, let me take your bag.”

“Actually, I’m just gonna use the bathroom real quick- just one sec...”

I swiftly wheeled my suitcase away. As I got closer to the bathroom, I turned and found Cassie watching me closely. I tucked into the bathroom and immediately called Jenna.

“You didn’t tell her about me?” I asked, crammed in a stall with my suitcase.

“I thought I did,” Jenna said, lying. “Maybe not. I can’t remember. New mom brain.”

“Wait a minute- you didn’t think she’d say yes if she knew it was me.”

“Noni. You’re not exactly 27 Dresses material.”

Couldn’t argue with that. Jenna had always been a Disney princess, ever since first grade. I related more to the wicked witches. But now this witch needed some extra money to make payments on her art school loans.

“There’s something wrong with this woman...”

“All brides get weird before the wedding. She’s about to sign her freedom away. Just laugh at everything. Hold up her dress so she can pee. Dance with her pervy uncle. You got this.”

“Keep your phone on you,” I hissed.

“What? Sorry, Jackson’s fussing- can’t hear you. Enjoy Italy. Ciao ciao!”

The drive to the remote village was nauseating. The roads were winding and Cassie was sitting so close in the back of the cab that our arms were touching. Several times during our conversation I caught her frowning at the freckles on my legs.

“So are you from the area?” I asked, filling the silence.

“Yes. My family has deep roots in Triora. We are a little traditional as you’ll see.”

“It’s beautiful here,” I said, trying not to vomit. “Can’t wait to meet the fam.”

Triora, the Salem of Italy. They actually advertised that on shop windows like it was a point of pride. We got to the small mountain village through a dense forest, far from any major city. The village itself seemed mostly unchanged since the 1500s. Somehow life continued on in the ruins of an expired civilization.

Max, the fiancé, waited for us outside a crumbling villa attached to a church. Oddly, he opened my door and helped me out while Cassie got out on her own.

“Ciao bella!” he said to me, in an accent as bad as mine. “Wait, you’re a redhead?”

“Yeah... Didn’t realize that would be such an issue.”

“She’s perfect,” Cassie cut in. “Let me introduce you to the family. They will love you!”

Cassie’s family didn’t speak English but they made it abundantly clear how delighted they were to have me. I got kissed on both cheeks by several shades of lipstick, and was generally embraced as if I was part of the family. All the affection made my skin crawl, but I tried to summon my inner Jenna and keep the good vibes flowing.

We ate in an underground room. The stone walls and flickering candles gave the distinct feeling of dining in a crypt. There was fig and honey, and many bottles of wine. Cassie disappeared at some point, so it was just me and Max at the head of the table.

"How'd you guys meet?" I asked him over the loud chatter.

"I was out here for work, I'm a historian. We met at a bar. And the rest is history."

“That's super sweet... So is there anyone else in the wedding party?”

“You’re it.”

“Do you guys have, like, any friends, or…?”

“No one else was able to make it.” He slung his arm over my shoulder and gave me a side-hug like we had known each other for years. “I’m really, really happy you’re here.”

The night then took a hedonistic turn. Everyone fell into a kind of euphoric fit of laughter, dancing and lots of touching of faces. The energy was infectious. I kind of lost myself in it. Several different relatives kept calling me Cassia. I corrected them at first, but eventually just nodded along and laughed and danced like a lunatic.

I got back to my room, soaked in sweat, ears buzzing. I went straight for the shower but stopped short. On the bathroom sink, there was a note from Cassie beneath a bottle of hair dye: WILL YOU PLEASE USE THIS FOR YOUR HAIR, AND TRY ON WHAT'S IN THE CLOSET? YOU'RE MY GIRL XOXOXO CASSIE

I checked the bottle. I couldn’t read the label but the liquid inside was chestnut brown. She wanted me to dye my hair to her exact shade. And worse, inside the closet, there was a lacy nightgown waiting for me to try on.

I called Jenna. She didn’t answer. I paced around until I noticed some activity outside my window. The family was huddled in the central courtyard that connected the rooms in the villa. They were in the midst of a hushed conversation, and seemed strangely sober considering how much wine we’d all just consumed.

I jumped back when my phone buzzed with a text from Jenna.

“Jackson’s sleeping… Wat’s up?”

“She wants me to dye my hair!!! And try on lingerie!?!?!”

“Welcome to the life of a bridesmaid...”

“Why did you make me do this??”

“I didn’t. You asked me for this, remember? Noni, once in ur life… commit!”

It was annoying how well she knew me. For most of my adult years, I’d been plagued by indecision. I was always between jobs. Between interests. Between looks. Scratch a little deeper and you'd find a long-held belief that I had to be somebody entirely different than who I knew myself to be.

“Look at you… bellissima!” Cassie said in the morning, grabbing my cheeks.

It was the day of the wedding. My hair was now chestnut brown. I had bangs. Also, I was in a voluminous gown with embroidery, lace and pearls that was obviously meant for a bride.

Cassie assured me it was tradition in her family for a bridesmaid to resemble the bride, down to every last detail. One of her aunts tailored the gown to my body while we talked.

“This is so great, I’m having so much fun,” I said, sucking in my gut as her aunt brought in the seams. “I did want to talk to you though... I think you went for the easy-breezy package, right? And well, what’s happening right now, it’s kinda outside what was agreed on.”

“You want more money?”

“That’s not really what I meant.”

“Name your price, I’ll pay the difference. You take Venmo, yes?”

She whipped out her phone, ready to transfer money over. I sighed and asked for another hundred dollars. She immediately sent it. Should’ve asked for a hell of a lot more...

The wedding was held in the church connected to the house. The walls and ceilings were covered in fading frescos. All the guests wore black. The priest read passages from the bible. I had no idea what he was saying but the whole affair seemed bizarrely solemn.

It was just me and Max at the altar, waiting for Cassie to make an entrance. Although by that point, I don’t think anyone would’ve known whether it was me or her under the veil.

“Will you hold my hand?” Max whispered, lovingly.

“Absolutely not.”

“Don’t make it weird. It’s tradition.”

“If someone says ‘tradition’ one more goddamn time-”

A sudden wind blew in and slammed the door shut behind it. All the windows immediately shuttered. Every single candle in the church went out in a flash. The daylight was all but snuffed out. The priest bowed his head, and each of the wedding guests followed suit.

“Uhh…” I uttered loudly, my voice echoing off walls.

Max shushed me with a finger to his mouth.

I felt a chill on my skin as the temperature dropped in the room. I looked around at the many bowed heads. And that’s when I noticed Cassie in the back, hiding behind a black veil, the only one whose head wasn’t bowed. She was staring at me in anticipation.

“Why isn't Cassie up here, Max?... Tell me, right now!"

"I thought you were a professional bridesmaid? Don't you know you're the decoy?"

"Decoy? For what?!"

“Shhhh. Our guest of honor is here.”

I followed his eyes. A dark mist was rolling down the aisle. As it approached, it bulked up and took shape. Before I could react, the spirit was already in my face.

Deep within its roiling mist, I could see a figure. Hunched, skeletal. Its gleaming eyes set in a face of smoke and shadow that was constantly shifting form.

“Sua! Sua! Sua!” I heard the guests chant in unison, while Max stood beside me, saying “Her! Her! Her!”

I wanted to punch him in the face but I couldn’t move. The spirit’s eyes were already on me, gleaming with malevolence. An arm of bone extended out through the mist to lift my veil. Within its flickering eyes, I could see an eternity of damnation.

But not for me. There was a look of recognition between us. Two misbegotten creatures who ended up at the same wedding, each with a job to do. I pointed a finger at the person it came for- Cassie, hiding out in the back row of the church.

The spirit’s swirling face followed my hand. And locked onto Cassie. Its eyes flared red.

“No!” Max yelped. “It’s her you want, this is the one I love! Amore, amore!”

He grabbed my hand and tried to kiss it. I pulled back and punched him square in the nose. Blood geysered onto my face and dress as the spirit tore off through the air over to Cassie.

I watched it rip off her black veil, lick her face with its serpent tongue while she screamed in terror, then drag her down the long aisle by her chestnut hair.

A door leading underground swung open. And it pulled her inside the chamber.

The wedding guests howled in anguish as Cassie disappeared into the bowels of the church. Max charged after her while holding his broken nose. I stood alone at the altar beside the priest, peppered in blood. He blessed me then hustled off for the exit.

It took several miles to find someone willing to give me a ride to the airport. By then, I was barefoot in a torn gown, dragging my suitcase behind me. The old shopkeeper didn’t ask questions as he drove me away from Triora, but he did offer a piece of advice.

“You should be careful in a dress like that,” he said, wagging his finger as we pulled into the terminal. “The spirits might mistake you for a bride.”

I changed into my clothes in a bathroom at the airport. Stuffed the wedding gown in the trash can. I caught my reflection in the mirror on my way out. My face was streaked in makeup, hair everywhere, skin dotted with dried blood. For the first time in awhile, I didn’t mind how I looked.

I was about to board my flight back home when I got a text from Jenna.

“Sooo? Was being a bridesmaid as awful as you thought it’d be?"

"They tried to turn me into a decoy to trick an evil spirit into dragging me to hell."

"Lol. Typical... I have another client if ur interested."

I thought for a moment. Confirmed the new balance in my bank account. Then replied:

"I'm ur girl."