A Writing Prompt - The Mardi Gras Mask

(Since festival time is approaching in Louisiana, this seemed like it might be a fun prompt.)

The local museum is offering an exhibit of Mardi Gras art. It's a stunning display of those familiar festival hues -- purples, greens, golds. Posters, feathers, costumes and, of course, beads, are spotlighted in glass cases.

You stroll amid the displays, bolstered by the carnival spirit the artifacts suggest. You can almost hear jazz tunes and the shouts from the crowd.

Then you come upon a showcase with a full-head mask, displayed on a mannequin bust. It's a full face and skull of silver beads so shiny they seem to send back flares from the spotlight.

You're staring into empty spaces where eyes might be, but you're entranced as you gaze into the emptiness. You realize there's something unusual about this mask, or the person who wore it. Your thoughts begin to swirl, and then they seem to fill with images...

(Feel free to use as you choose. If it takes you to somewhere creative, that's wonderful.)