Dancing

• Emily Norton, Grade 9G
• Short Story
• 2017

It’s difficult, you know? Finding the balance and rhythm to keep pace with the music. Yet, try as I might, I always end up on the ground, with a bump, a thump, a crack or a wince. I have the bruises to show.
It’s not easy, and there’s no-one there to catch me… But something keeps telling me to get back up; off of the cold, wooden flooring and throw myself back into it, trying to perfect the spin again and again and again… Until my feet are red and swollen and my lungs are screaming for relief, but eventually; there’s a click, this time, not of my shoulder or my knee, but in my mind. The one moment when my body syncs to the music and I feel my feet gliding into place, my arms outstretching as I forget about the falling and the bruises, as I begin to spin, my mind clear and heart open, I let my body take control. It’s not good to linger on my failures, it only makes me doubt that I’ll ever do it, but here I am, flying across the room as the music reaches its crescendo. I come to a stop, my arms still outstretched as I bring them into my chest and turn my head to the side, softening my stance as the music fades out and I’m left alone in the dimly lit ballroom that no-one’s entered for years.
Tomorrow night I will return, my feet bruised and bloody and continue to perfect my act, never wondering if anyone will ever see, I don’t dance to show others, I do it to know that anything is possible, even a girl like me can fly for a second at a time.