Come into the Light

The Love You Deserve

Chapter Four

The love you deserve

Eight years later

1880

The crowd was roaring so loud that I could hardly hear myself think. They threw flowers at my feet as I received a standing ovation. It was the end of my first headlining debut in the Ballet called Giselle. It has always been a dream of mine to be the lead dancer in this Ballet and after so many years of practicing and training, I finally was granted the opportunity. All those years of receiving my Mother's scolding have finally paid off.

The rest of the cast stood behind me in a line, waving and bowing alongside with me, and after what has felt to me like a lifetime; A familiar passion revived in me; that passion and purpose for dance that I have always had and felt ever since I entered a dance studio with my Mother when I was a child. Even throughout all the applause and the cheering from the crowd and feeling a happiness well up in me that I couldn't describe, I couldn't help but think: How I wish Erik could be here to see me fulfill my greatest dream. Since I saw the ballet Giselle for the first time I have longed to dance as the lead character, Giselle. But my Mother always told me that I was not good enough.

"You do not practice enough, Meg. To fulfill your dreams, you must have perseverance, which you lack." My Mother's words haunted me for the longest time. And for years, I longed to prove her wrong. To make her realize that I was a worthy enough dancer and that she could be proud of me. As proud or even more than the way she was of Christine.

I felt a hand touch my shoulder and I turned around to see a pair of familiar emerald eyes. Benedict, our Director, handed over to me a bouquet of flowers and the crowd's cheers intensified. He embraced me tightly and whispered in my ear: "You were perfect, Mon amour."

I tried to hide my blush as I smiled and took the flowers in my arms. He wrapped a hand around my waist and then we joined the rest of the cast hand in hand and bowed again to a closing red curtain. As soon as the curtain closed an explosion of excitement enveloped around me as everyone around me started to celebrate.

"Show well done, everyone!" Benedict exclaimed from beside me as he cupped my face and leaned towards me. "You danced beautifully, Meg." His lips touched mine briefly as I opened my eyes at him and glanced around me hoping no one saw. He knew I didn't like showing affection in front of a crowd, especially my dancing partners. Benedict and I have been together for a year and it is only recently that we've made the relationship public to the rest of the Ballet School. It is not every day that a ballet instructor begins a relationship with one of his dancers.

"Ben!" I whispered, trying to seem annoyed but I couldn't hide a smirk.

"Oh, would you let a man show a woman how proud he is of her." I smiled and took his hand in mine and squeezed it.

"Later." I whispered and winked at him. He laughed and led me away backstage. As we walked, the other dancers would embrace me and tell me things like "Congratulations!" or "Beautiful, Meg!"

"Thank you!" I would always answer. We kept walking further back towards my dressing room and I found my Mother along the way. She was wearing her familiar black dress that has already made her famous around the Ballet School and held her cane wearing her usual scowl. Now was the defining moment for me. To me, my Mother's opinion in my dancing was always the one who meant the most to me, even if I usually ended up crushed under her heel afterwards.

"Mama! Did you enjoy the ballet?" I asked. Even though I was twenty-nine years old, I felt like a child again, holding my breath, waiting to see what my Mother would say.