black widow movie | dear violette romanoff,

chapter one | youth

The day is endless and giving, and I can feel the flowers and leaves tickle my hands and cheeks. The fragile branches of short blossom trees pull at my thin yellow dress and snapping off, and the world is forever. It is the feeling of life.

"Violette," Yelena says. The sun burns on my face as I hear her voice.

I turn around and watch her as she attempts and then perfectly performs a backbend.

She demonstrates. "Watch me," she shouts, folding over like a gymnast.

I smile and frown. "How did you do that?"

She stays in the same position for a while, encouraging me to try.

I gain courage, bend my knees, fall back, stick my hands up and behind, and before I hit the ground, curve my back and duck my head under my torso.

"Well, I can do it for longer," Yelena urges.

"That's not fair. You practiced longer than me," I hiss, feeling my tongue between my teeth creating a lisp. "Where's Natasha?"

Nat's whistle calls behind the playground. Twelve-year-old Nat appears through the garden with bare feet and messy brown hair; dyed blue.

Yelena whistles back, and Nat runs over.

I squeal as my hands and feet leave the grass, and Nat thrashes me around in the humidity. I only reach the ground once again after Yelena silently challenges her to a backbend challenge.

I sit beside the slide to observe.

"We're both upside-down," Yelena says, watching Natasha.

Nat tips over, too. "And I bet you're gonna fall down first."

"No, you will," Yelena insists. "You can't hold it much longer."

"Violette!" Nat shouts for me, nudging her upside-down head toward Yelena.

I walk over and sit on Yelena's stomach, hoping it might cause her to fall.

Natasha pulls a face, and Yelena drops and groans. "Told you you'd fall down first!" she screams in joy. Joy is a nice thing on Natasha's face.

Yelena pushes me off of her, holds my hand, and we both get up to chase Nat.

"I told you! I told you!" she continues to yell. "Told you so!"

I notice that Yelena is no longer beside me, and a wailing scream follows from behind Natasha and me.

"Mommy!" Yelena screams as tears soak her cheeks. Her knee is bleeding and scabby, and her elbows are covered in a thick layer of mud.

I go over to hug her, and her raspy voice chokes on tears. "Does it really, really hurt?" I ask, stunned at the amount of blood.

"It really hurts." Yelena sobs wildly.

Mom appears from the kitchen; she bends down and allows Yelena to hug her. "What happened?" she asks Natasha.

"She fell on her knee."

"Oh, you bump your knee?" Mom coos.

"Mm-hmm," Yelena mumbles and sobs.

I look at Yelena and then at Mom. "She says that it really hurts, Mama."

"Ah! Kiss it better," Mom suggests. She kisses Yelena's knee. "Here, Violette, sweetie, you help me."

I kiss Yelena's cheek, and hot, salty tears spread on my lips.

"There we go." Mom smiles. "Oh, come on, little one. Get up. You're okay. Come on. You're a brave girl. How brave is your big sister, Violette?"

"Super brave," I repeat what Yelena had said to me when I broke my arm last year.

"Violette!" Nat shouts. She's sitting on the top of the playground on her knees. "Violette, come up here." She pats the spot beside her.

"Your pain only makes you stronger," I hear Mom say. She looks at Natasha. "Right, you?"

"Yeah," Nat confirms and lifts me onto the playground. She sits down beside me.

"Your hair is very blue," I tell her. "Your cheeks are pink, too."

"Your cheeks are pinker," she smiles.

"No, yours are!"

"No, yours are."

"Mom, look!" Yelena shouts from the swings. "Forest stars."

Natasha and I look to our right - the sky and trees are filled with small, dotted lights.

"Mama, what is that?" I ask. "They're like little fires."

"Yeah, you know what? Those are actually a part of the Lampyridae family," Mom says, helping me down from the ladder to the playground.

"Lampyridae," I repeat.

"Yes. And the glow, the glow that you see, that comes from a chemical reaction called... bioluminescence." She grins with her teeth.

"Bio..." I try.

"Come on. Time for dinner." Yelena and Mom walk back toward the house.

"Bioluminescence," Nat corrects me.

"Bio-goomin-fescence?" Yelena tries as well.

"'Bio-goomin-fescence.' That's right," Mom laughs.

I stare at Natasha - she looks totally amazed by such a small, meaningless thing.

"Dinner!" Mom calls out again.

"Nat." I poke her.

"Come on, dinner, big girl!"