Firebird

Chapter 7- Forever

Chapter 7- Forever

   Fa ran over to me. The sequence and glitter on her suit shone brightly against the dim lighting. She was younger than me and much smaller but her experience and skill was far beyond mine.

   She rubbed in some of the lime green eye shadow on my eyelid. “You look great.” She smiled reassuringly.

   I remembered looking in the mirror at myself before leaving the trailer. Layered green eye shadow lined with black pencil that stretched out past my eyes, pink lip gloss, glitter, bright blush on my cheeks and then the performance suit I’d worn to practice in so many times. My hair was tightly pulled away from my face, bringing out it’s angles. I’d hardly recognized myself.

   A mixture of excitement and nervousness slurred in my stomach. I looked around for Astley. He was a comfort just to have around. I wanted him to reassure me that I was ready for this. But I  couldn’t see him within the cloud of performers.

   Fa peeked out of the curtain. “It’s time. Ready?”

   I nodded unconvincingly. Was I?

   “Your face is as green as your suit. Don’t worry. The worst that could happen is that you fall and break your neck in the middle of the show.”

   Comforting.

   As Chalavar announced Ryo and Hyun, the audience went wild throughout the stadium seats. Fa burst out of the curtain and I followed. Just like we had practiced. Ryo’s words from the night before lingered in my mind. “You’re definitely ready, Bella. You’ll make this show the best show Charlesville has ever seen.” It was the most positive thing she’d ever said to me.

   I ran to my ribbons in the far right corner, directly behind Fa’s. The voices of the crowd was like music to my ears. I seemed to move in slow motion, the world muted and muffled.

  I was before so many people. There to entertain and delight. To mystify young children like myself so long ago. My dream was finally coming true. I was a part of this wonderful group. Nothing could’ve been better.

   As I took the ribbons and heaved myself up in sync with the other three in the corners, my nervousness melted away. The lights shifted from us, to Ryo and Hyun in the middle ribbons.

   Hyun flashed an out-of-character smile at the crowd. It was disgusting how charming he tried to be when I knew how awful he really was. But then, I only know what Ryo has told me.

   The mystical music filled the tent with beautiful sound. I did a wrap and pose where my body was almost completely upside down. As I hung, I examined the faces in the crowd that were somewhat close. There were so many children. They tugged on their parents clothes and pointed at Ryo and Hyun, squealing with delight. It made me think of papa and how I had done the exact same thing…

   Thirty seconds passed in the same pose and as the music changed, I climbed higher up, letting the silk wrap around me. Once I was at the top, I would drop, possibly the hardest part of the routine.

   I caught a glimpse of Ryo as I climbed. She looked amazing in her teal suit with a flowing skirt behind it. I imagined how hard it would be to do her act with it like that. Nevertheless, her silver glitter and smiling face was a nice change to the serious girl I knew.

   She wrapped a leg under Hyun’s. He held on to the silk with one hulking arm and wrapped the other around Ryo. She let go of everything and trusted in Hyun to keep her off the ground. She leaned back and held out her arms like a graceful swan. I wouldn’t have trusted Hyun, or anyone for that matter, to do that to me. She was incredibly brave.