Romance Me

Taming the Beast - Part Five

Thunder clapped through the sky, the vibrations seeming to singe through the air. Jane counted.

One... two... three... f--

It crashed, louder this time. Despite her attempt to placate her fears, Jane felt her heart speed in the tight confines of her car. She had come early to dance class, an hour early, in fact, and had planned to wait in her vehicle. But now, her Escape seemed the last place she wanted to be. Would the doors be open if she went to the classroom? Would there even be class with this heavy storm?

Another roll of thunder sounded, this time being accompanied by a bright, electric lightning flash.

That was it. She had to leave - or be struck dead trying.

God, please protect me, she prayed as she snatched her bag and her umbrella - and then, looking at the winds, traded for her raincoat instead. Upon opening the door, rain immediately pelted her, the cold soaking sensation eliciting a gasp from her mouth as she slammed the car door and ran through the parking lot.

Crackling thunder drove her fear like a whip as the lightning illuminated her path. Quickly, she dashed under the safety of the building's overhang and yanked on the door handle of the classroom. It flew open without resistance and, with no hesitation, she dove, closing it behind her.

Rasping for breath, she pushed the useless hood off her soaked hair as the dim, empty room settled both a safe, yet eerie sense inside of her gut. She laughed in relief.

"Oh, Jane!" she ejeculated to herself, "You must have been running like a crazed maniac with the devil at your heels! Good job! Good... job..."

Resting her head against the door, the girl evened her breathing and checked her bag. Out came her ballet shoes, unharmed, and as she grasped to slide them on her feet, a white parchment paper fell out onto the ground. Holding her breath, she picked it up, squinting her eyes to read the scrawled handwriting:

I love you, Jane. Do not worry about me. Go and dance your heart out. -Love, Papa

"Oh..." Jane murmured as her vision blurred. Slowly, she curled the paper in her hands and brought it to her lips as a small sob escaped. Her papa... in so much pain, yet still able to show his love to others. It was a rare and selfless gift she feared she'd never possess.

Go and dance your heart out...

Gradually, Jane lifted her head, her eyes surveying the solitary room, a room in which she was required no impressions, no pressures, and no limits.

"I will dance," she whispered.

And so, standing on bare feet, Jane fished out her phone and walked to the speakers, letting her finger alight on a random song as she hooked it to the device.

It began with the swell of a violin.

Her hands raised instinctively, her breathing softened as she closed her eyes, feeling the friction of her own skin as she slid one arm down the other. Awareness spread throughout her body, alighting about her limbs, to her toes, to the muscles in her joints, to her fingers, to the soft draft of air brushing across her face. She breathed it in - and then, the orchestra joined.

And suddenly, she was air.

It was like another universe, a place in which her body was no longer her own - but the music's. Her limbs rose with the swells, glided with the strings, danced in merriment with the wind instruments and exploded to the drums. Each movement was a fluid motion, an impassioned spin, a breathless leap - nothing could stop her as she used every source, beckoning it to come with her, the mirrors, the walls, the bars, the ground - even the thunder and lightning echoed her exhilaration, showering clear, cleansing drops of water through her soul and out her fingers, painting the walls with her deep and fervent love, her welling sorrow, her bright and lasting joy. She was bending, twisting, floating, reaching; she was sound, and light, and soul, and love, and she was comple--