Dance

• Lenya Ball-vant, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2017

She twisted and turned. She rose high into the air, landing without an sound on the dead leaves that blanketed her clearing. Her feet swept across the rough ground, nimble as a ant, never stumbling. All her mind was focused on the music that played in her ears and she forgot the conflict that raged outside.

Everyday she came to her clearing. No one knew where she was. She bathed is the freedom, letting it soak through her body. It was a secret, known only by her and the silent forest. It gave her something to look forward to. It was the bright spot in the dark storm of her life. She looked forward to it, and, when times turned bad, she held onto it for all she was worth.

She came to her clearing to get away from the world and its conflict. As she leaped and twirled it seemed hardly to matter. Once a day, she could escape from the harsh reality of life. No one could see her and call her names. No one would blame her because of her sex, her race, her sexuality. No one would blame her for who she was. The forest listened and looked and did not say a word.

Some people chose to die to get away from the torment. Some chose to conform, to be who society told them to be. They couldn’t bare it any longer. She did neither. She chose to hold onto her life and her identity. Faced with an choice, she chose the other option. She chose to dance.