Heaven's Empire

Dream

That night I went to bed with my head spinning. I couldn't make sense of it all; the fairytale-like way I had been swept from an existence going nowhere to a life destined for stardom.

Tossing and turning in the luxuriously soft bed, I tried to imagine what the ominous 'Casting Day' would entail.

My measurements would no doubt be taken, though I doubted I needed to worry there. Years of watching money carefully meant I never bought more food than I needed and my desire to always stay as fit as possible, combined with time on various school sports teams, had given me a flat stomach, small waist and toned limbs. Perhaps my figure could get a little more curvaceous, but they'd give me time to work on that, I assumed?

I feared the suggestion of having to walk like a runway model. I had walked in heels before, run in them once or twice, but I didn't believe I had a runway-ready walk by any stretch of the imagination. And what if they wanted photos? I had no idea how to behave in front of the camera and imagined I would only manage an awkward pose or two. With no portfolio, no previous experience and no real skills at all, how would I convince anyone I was worth the faith Kensa had placed in me?

Even when I finally fell asleep, it wasn't to calm and pleasant dreams. Nightmares plagued me; nightmares where Kensa realised I was ugly and unfit for the job, nightmares where the legendary designer refused to work with me, nightmares where I was so hopeless even the goddess-like Ciara, who had been kind in her praise of me, had to admit I was incapable.

Each time I awoke, it was only to a stronger realisation that I no longer wanted this job for the money that had made me sign the contract at first. The talk of the shows, the cameras, the people and their adoration for the models - it had awoken something in me, a desire to walk with these runway angels and soar to their heights.

But when morning came I could only wonder: would I earn the wings needed to glide, or would I fall from grace to crash and burn?