In The Shoes Of A Ballerina

Chapter 7

                Dea was preparing her and Gabby’s lunch in the kitchen when she heard someone bite at a fruit. She turned around to see the figure leaning against the wall with an apple in hand. Her instinct told her to tighten her grip on the knife she used to cut the onions.

                “Chill, girl.” Talitha raised both her hands as if surrendering. “I come in peace.” She pulled her lips from ear to ear, obviously faking it.

                But Dea pointed the sharp end of her knife to her visitor’s direction. “After what you did, you still have the guts to come here?”

                Talitha tried to suppress her laughter but couldn’t. “You’re as funny as ever, Dea. What did I do?” she asked innocently

                Dea’s eyebrows pulled together. She spoke trying to control her anger, “You had an affair with my husband. You also killed him, and now you’re asking me what you did!”

                The lady took a bite on the apple then said, “Know why I killed him? He loved you so much that no matter how I tried to get him to like me, he was still enchanted by you.” She walked toward Dea’s direction. “And I hated it. I hated you.” She pointed a finger to Dea’s chest.

                Dea was loosening her grip on the knife because of too much trembling caused by the confession of the woman who was her former bestfriend. “Why?” she asked in a hoarse voice.

                Talitha glided the apple on the sharpened side of the knife and it made a cut, proof that the knife pointed at her might cause the death of her. She shrugged. “Why? Because I envy you since we were kids. You weren’t a good dancer when you got in in the Novestilo. So I befriended you because no one wanted to be your friend. I should’ve listened to them, don’t you think?” She laughed then opened the fridge like she was searching for water. “Then one day I went to school then, voila, you were the hot topic. It got on for weeks and it annoyed me so much because they didn’t see that I’m much better than you.”

                Dea remembered otherwise. Talitha was so proud of her then. The lady even told Dea that finally she went out of her shell. And now, this same woman was implying all her affections toward Dea were lies?

                “I kept my cool but not until you became a prima ballerina.” She drank a glass of water.

                Dea wished she had mixed muriatic acid with that pitcher of water. She was right when she thought it was Talitha who put those tiny pieces of glass inside her pointe shoes.

                “Screw you, Talitha! You’re nothing but an insecure bitch!” Dea readied the knife in her hand when Talitha walked in her direction again.

                She was laughing. “Whoa. Am I?”

                “Andrea, I’m here to tell you that I’d be out with your Auntie—“ The woman who was searching for something inside her bag stopped speaking when she saw Dea pointing the knife in her direction. “Hey! What are you doing?”