Winter Hearts

Ours Now

Siana had her breakfast on the balcony. The sun was already up and she had an hour to go before the first batch of kids would arrive for their dance lesson. She leaned back on her chair and put her legs up on the balcony rails as she ate her soggy cereal and watched the sunlight slowly warm up the town.

She was already dressed in ballet tights and leotard under her jacket and had her hair tied up tight in a bun. Although the classes were very casual, the little girls loved all things to do with ballet, so Siana dressed as a proper ballerina, prim and neat and tidy, as an example to them. She would spend a bit of time going through ballet etiquette and things like posture and deportment - introducing the culture of the ballet dancer along with the dance.

She munched on her cereal thoughtfully.

Much as she had been looking forward to starting the classes with the kids, she was looking forward to seeing Leo later in the day. She felt light, as if a long, long wait was finally over. Although there was a giddying flurry of nerves played in her belly, it was from anticipation rather than anxiety.

She was grateful that her father seemed to be very happy for her, and even liked Leo. It seemed so easy, despite all all the odds that she had thought were against them.

She felt like they had passed through an important crossroad, and now the road ahead was an open highway. She knew there was going to be a time where they would have to stop and take stock, but that was in the future. All she wanted to do now was to take that heady drive with Leo, and see what the open road would bring them.

She finished and got up to wash her bowl in the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of water, she picked up her ballet shoes, slipped on her sneakers, then grabbed her phone and keys and left the house.

Downstairs, she opened up the main entry door and then the small door by the lift so that parents could drop their children off at the front instead of walking around through the back yard. In the studio, she turned on a portable heater and checked the playlist on her phone.

She still had some time to go. Although she didn't really need to warm up to conduct these classes, she decided there was enough time for her to fit in some stretching and perhaps some practise for herself.

She lay on the floor and focused on long, deep stretches that worked on her turnout and her flexibility in her legs and her back. She felt like a cat, the stretches rippling through her body as it began to wake up from a long night of rest. She got up off the floor did some centre exercises, pliés, pirouettes and jumps, focusing more on her technique and strength and finally feeling like her body was awake and primed for physical activity.

She heard the voices of the first bunch of kids as they came in, and when they saw her in the room, they came squealing own the rest of the stairs to rush to her and give her a hug, followed by a couple of bedraggled mothers bearing bags, bottles and pink ballet shoes.

The quiet was gone as the girls readied themselves for their class while Siana chatted quickly with the mothers. Some of the kids had siblings who would do the next class, and so Siana would be doing double duty both teaching and babysitting the extra children as they sat and waited for their turn.

Siana didn't mind at all, since she realised that effectively, she was offering a creche service. The parents were grateful for some activity that would keep the kids preoccupied for a while and gave them time for their church or personal activities on a sunday morning. Sooner or later, it had paid off for Siana as many mums began asking if she would do classes for adults too. Eventually, she would see herself getting busier and busier during weeknights, and by the end of her stay, would amass a tidy sum for efforts.

However, that was the last thing on Siana's mind. She felt preoccupied as she began the warm ups with the kids after the mums had gone. Although she conducted the class just the same, in the back of her mind she wondered what Leo would think if he was to see her teaching kids. Did he like being with kids? Would her class like him if he were to appear suddenly and interact with them?