I Am Blossom

• Madison Sykes, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2019

I cannot speak. I cannot walk. I cannot see. I don't even know my name. I can only dance.

I live beneath the crumbling concrete ruins of an old village. Its’ spirit dead just as its’ previous owners. Only concrete, dirt, and small fragments of shattered dreams remain from before he came, the darkness in a bright world. My only hope is my pure white ballet shoes which shine light into the blackness. A source of new beginnings in the dark rubble around me. I dance down paths I cannot see, only feel, the winding road leading me to my garden. My imagination fuels me, it illustrates the delicate leaves, flowing streams and towering mountains.

I dance in my garden sending cracks through the earth, life spilling out of each open wound. I have one goal, to restore life into the world. But I’m not alone. I am one of seven, who were sacrificed to provide a future for the next generation. Sacrificed to vanquish the darkness and dance around the continents to lift the dark shadow of the past. I am one of seven who dance today, tomorrow and forever. The only way for us to ever speak, walk or see again is when the world is restored; growing, thriving and flourishing once more.

But, maybe, there’s another way. I try and communicate through dance. I turn, leap, pointe, jete. But nothing. I do it again and then, suddenly, I sense someone behind me. I turn around, imagining my surroundings, and there she is, another girl. She’s not alone, the other five are there as well. We communicate through dance and words enter my mind: together, dance, free, everyone. It seems there is another way, dancing together.

Turn, leap, pointe, jete. I feel a rush of wind spinning around us, lifting us up, then placing us down on hard rock. I am familiar with this place, and remember this is where the earth was poisoned by the darkness, once, long ago. A black sludge surrounds the pillar at the core of the earth.

We join hands once more and dance around the pillar to revive the world. We focus on the earth’s core, imagine it flourishing. The black gooey liquid disintegrates; revealing a lush green earth with trees, streams and flowers blooming.

We open our eyes for the first time in forever. We see ourselves and the vibrant world around us. We don’t have to dance forevermore. We are free. I walk to a nearby stream, take off my ballet shoes and walk in the glistening water. I follow the stream to a forest of cherry blossom trees full of tiny, delicate pink flowers.

They feel special to me, as if they were a big part of my past. I know my name now- I am Blossom.