Leap Of Faith

• Fiona Xu, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2011

The vast hall was crammed with guests, eating and drinking, the sounds of chatting and laughter floating out the windows to where more people sat outside, watching the stars on full stomaches. She stood waiting behind the tallest platform, the only one without the rich feast in her belly and wine to redden her cheeks. Her hands trembled in anticipation of the performance, butterflies fluttering in her growling stomach. Slowly the noise in the hall fell to silence. Men, women and children waited for the girl to appear, which she did, flipping onto the platform, shaking from head to toe. She waited rooted to the spot, fighting the urge to collapse in front of all the people. She was meant to start but she didn’t. Instead, her hands shook and she felt like crying. Everyone was staring at her small figure. People started to grumble at the frozen girl. Was she ever going to start? What was she doing? Some people returned to their drinks. Her eyes regained focus. Then suddenly she was in the air, turning and flipping, reaching for the lowest rope. Her fingers grabbed for the rope, but her sweaty hands slipped. She somersaulted back onto the platform, her heart racing ahead of her. Hisses filled the hall, people jeered and pointed at her, children sneered and scoffed. She leaped again, her muscles straining to reach the rope, ignoring the hisses and boos. Her fingers closed around the coarse rope, strands of twine coming loose through her fingers. She swung her legs up to grasp the rope and flipped upside down, her right leg hooked through the loop. The jeering stopped, dying down into a universal hush. She released her hold on the low rope and reached to grip the higher rope, her heart leaping in her chest and pounding in her ears. Her fingers closed around the twist of rope and she flipped and turned from one rope to another. The fire threw her shadow across the walls, a great leaping figure among the royal tapestry. Her face was lit up as she passed the great fire, her strong features emphasized through the glow of the flames. As she swung from the high ropes, achieving impossible bounds, she looked like a dancing flame twirling and spinning through the thick twine of the ropes. The audience held their breath as one and gasped together every time she performed yet another impossible trick. She flipped herself from the highest rope back to the lowest, and then somersaulted backwards onto the edge of the platform. Her hands drooped at her sides, her breath coming short. She hung her head in a bow and stayed looking at her feet, too tired to straighten up. For a moment the hall was silent and without a whisper. Then in unison, the hall burst into ovation. Men, women and children cheered their hearts out for her. The applause was deafening.