Forever & Always

Chapter 9: Tarantism✔️

(n) - overcoming melancholy by dancing; the uncontrollable urge to dance

Pronounced: tare-an-tiz-um

•Winter's pov•

It's quiet.

The only thing I can hear as I sit on my bay window are the crickets chirping. The family gathering was just 2 days ago, as was my talk with Nonno about how I was feeling.

•

"I don't want to lose my family again."

"Ηλιοτρόπιο, no one expects you to be the same person. We don't know what you went through, but we all know you're not the same little girl we knew. No matter what happened to you, we are all proud of who you've become, though we have yet to see you. We don't care about the scars that decorate your skin. They are not to be ashamed of. Those scars helped to build you, they helped you become who you are. They aren't a reminder of what you've been through, they're a symbol to show others that you survived. Behind every one of your scars is a story. A story that people may be scared to hear, but a story to never be scared of yourself. Never be ashamed of yourself Ηλιοτρόπιο. You are beautiful αγάπη μου. You may not have had us for the past 10 years, but you have us now. And we are never letting you go."

(Greek- Sunflower; my love)

•

After that talk, I felt a lot better. However, there is still a part of me that doesn't feel ok. While staring out into the early morning sky, I feel the sudden urge to dance. Dancing has always come easy to me. It always allowed me to let go. I go to my closet and take out a pair of comfortable white pants, a long sleeve, blue shirt, and I put my hair in a messy bun.

I make some adjustments to my outfit by rolling up one of the sweatpant legs and tying up the shirt. I grab my phone and walk to the dance studio I discovered yesterday while exploring the house. Not only is it really big, but the walls are also soundproof.

I hook my phone up to the speaker and start scrolling through the songs in my library. I decide on the song Runaway by Aurora and get into my position while the song plays. I let the song play, but I don't start dancing just yet. I like to wait for what feels like the right moment and let my body lead me through the dance. Once she sings the second verse, I begin.
(She's wearing what the dancer in the video is wearing.)

(Start: 0:50)

I keep on dancing until the sun rises. When I finish, I disconnect my phone from the speaker and go back to my room to take a shower. Once I'm done showering, I blow dry my hair and put it in a low bun before putting on some shorts, a tank top, and a crewneck. I make my way to the kitchen for breakfast to see my brothers and sit between Wonder and Demi. We eat in a comfortable silence before Emiliano speaks up.

"How about we do something fun today as a family?"

"I'm down. But what should we do?" Demi questions. We all take a few minutes to think before I speak up.

"How about ice skating?" Everyone nods at my suggestion.

"Sounds like a good idea. We can go get changed after breakfast. It's pretty chilly today, so it may be a little cold in the rink. Bring a jacket just in case." Vince informs. After finishing up breakfast, I walk up to my room and start looking through my closet for something to wear. After looking for a little while, I finally decide on wearing a pair of gray sweatpants, a white, cropped tank top, a white cropped sweater, and white sneakers. I am going to bring a warmer sweater just in case I get cold in the rink, but I'll probably leave it in the car. As for my hair, I braid it back into two braids coming together in a low bun.