Night Lotus

Clair de lune

N/A: Clair de lune. Débussy

When I started to follow him, I knew how talented he was. Even if I didn't know much about ballet, I knew he was one of a kind.

He had an alias and posted versions of different pieces wearing masks. Sometimes, he even shared the rehearsals and his effort to master a particular movement.

It was random - how I started to follow him, I mean. I gathered different videos of people who played the piano and violin and their covers for other pieces. I was practicing Tchaikovsky, and I wanted to have ideas.

Then my news feed showed me a short video, no more than a minute, a piece of the "Swan Lake" by a young man wearing a mask with feathers. Since that moment, I couldn't take my eyes off him.

After watching the same video hundreds of times, I subscribed to his channel and every social media I found about him.

Sometime later, I discovered that he would present the "Swan Lake" in a small theater. The company gathered dancers who preferred using masks and aliases as well.

I loved the idea. It gave all introverts the space and privacy we love and the chance to prove ourselves.

The show was exquisite, and the public thought the same.

Sometime later, I gathered my courage and wrote to the Night Lotus - his alias - a private message. I wanted him to try to dance with one of my piano versions, and he agreed and started to follow me too.

I asked if he could do something for my "Clair de lune," so he did. Some days later, he uploaded a video with Debussy's piece. He danced with a purple mask, wearing black and his feet, bear. The Night Lotus decided to record it at dawn with the light entering the room with the shadows and the light casting a beautiful dance following his lead.

I felt every movement he displayed in my heart. The notes I played were the canvas and he, the strokes of light and darkness moving along.

Then, it hit me. The Night Lotus was mesmerizing because he was full of life and emotions, and he was pure energy that left his body when he started to dance. For me, it was both bewitching and compelling.

I had never felt so alive. At that moment, I knew that I would play every piece for the Lotus to dance from then on.

I decided to put my channel too and to share my pieces. I never showed my face in my videos like he never did.

And that is how it started.

I shared my channel with him. Soon I had a fair amount of followers, but he was the number one. My alias was Clair de lune because I wouldn't have started it without this piece.

Our friendship was honest and deep, with no names and no personal information, but a lot of reflections about our lives and how difficult it was for both of us to feel with the intensity we did.

We respected our privacy, for that, he invited me to his presentations, so I never missed one, and never did I try to know his name, nor did I contact him.

Sometime later, he told me he would start on a big company soon, trying to keep the channel while working his way there. Even if it was not as often as it used to be, he did for sure, and he kept dancing my pieces.

I cherished his friendship. He was one of the few people who knew about my family, dreams, nightmares, ups, and downs. And I was there for him too, listening to his reflections and secrets.