Short Story Collection by Anna Pink Mystic

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Throughout her life, she has danced in many operas, felt the different textures of stages with her bare feet and heard thousands of applause. She was content, not for the pride but to dance alongside her sister. She felt complete when dancing with her sister, the laughter and joy that flooded her every time she do so. But all of that was crushed when she was gone. She was left all alone to dance on the stage. No one there to dance with her from dusk to dawn, from one opera to the next. She was lost and whenever she danced, she felt incomplete, something was missing. She does not find triumph in her dance steps nor her twirls anymore despite her exemplary performance which was idolized by all.

Day by day sorrow flooded her entirely but on stage, she forced a smile which masked her true feelings beneath. Her emotions were hidden from the world, locked in the deepest part of her heart and never to be let out. Everyday as she stepped on the stage, she felt meaningless, what's the point of dancing for the cheers and pleasure of others when she can't seem to find that in herself? That day, as the curtains parted, the stage was empty.

For many years, she avoided stepping into the operas. It would only remind her of her failure without her sister. One night, she walked alone along the cobblestone floor where the lights spilled. She walked towards the fountain. The sound of the water rippling into the fountain was soothing and peaceful. There was a rhythm, or a melody that calmed her mind. She sat by the fountain, stared into the crystal clear waters and observed the small waves which blurred out her reflection.

She recalled the time when she and her sister danced and twirled along the edge of the bridge at the Seine River from one end to the other. There were many wary stares and commotions from the people. But in their eyes, they only saw each other. They were happy. Without realising, a single drop of tear rolled down her cheeks and dropped into the fountain forming ripples, but it slowly faded, taken over by the small waves from the flowing waters of the fountain. How fast the ripple of water was gone and taken over, she thought.

She jolted away as the water splashed from beside her. "Sorry," the child beamed. She squinted into the water and saw a single coin sinking slowly like a feather to the base of the fountain. Then, she turned towards the child. The child clasped his hands together, closed his eyes and seemed to be saying something under his breath. As he opened his eyes, his mother smiled at him and said softly, "That's not a wishing fountain, silly." Then, she held his hand and walked away.

She turned to the coin in the fountain once more and thought, the coin will remain in there for a very long time and if he were to return after many years later, he might find the coin he once threw when he was a child. A memory, she thought. She pondered at the coin beneath and thought, the coin is like a memory, sunk deep into the fountain and shall remain there forever. Just like the memories with her sister, it will live on in her heart.

She closed her eyes and could feel the cool night breeze brushing her skin, her hair flowed like waves and her dress billowed in the wind. The world slowly faded around her until it was dark. The sound of rippling waters softened until it was quiet entirely. The memories of her sister flooded her brain. She reminisced the moments she had with her sister. Dancing when they were kids, attending dance practices, auditioning for the operas, rushing meals between rehearsals and performances, performing on stage with thousands of pairs of eyes watching them, bowing as the curtains closed and seeing her sister for the last time. Her head was flooded with all sorts of emotions-love, happiness, contentment, wonder, sorrow, emptiness, shame, loneliness, nostalgia.

Without realising, her arms and legs were already moving gracefully to the rhythm of the water. As she twirled on the basin of the fountain, her dress spread out like a young flower blooming from its bud. The passers-by were captivated as they watched the girl. She was dancing not only with her arms and legs but with her heart. Some smiled while others shed tears. A simple gesture which moved the heart of many. A dance without music, but with only the sound of rippling waters. A dance which could evoke emotions of strangers. A dance which she did not choreograph, yet one which she felt complete.

Thank you for reading this short story!

I have a question :

Did you know what made her feel that her dance is complete?

When she's with her sister, her dancing felt complete because she was expressing herself when dancing. She was dancing with emotions. But ever since her sister is gone, her true feelings were locked away deep within her heart, never to be let out. So all the while when she was dancing, she forced a smile to hide her true feelings. She wasn't expressing herself in dancing. In the end, when she felt all those emotions, she danced and that's when she was dancing with emotions, dancing with her heart .