One (A Michael Jackson Fan Fiction)

Chapter 9

The three shows in Rotterdam went with minimal error and before long we were in Sweden; a city on the river named Gothenburg only a short distance from the sea. I sat patiently in the catwalks, waiting for rehearsal to begin. Michael was late which immediately set alarms off in my head. In all my time working with him, not once had he been late. When he finally did stroll into the arena, something lurked in his eyes, A thought haunting his every breath.

He apologized over the mic for the delay, promising everyone he would make it up to them and before long, rehearsal was underway. We were about halfway through the set when Michael just stopped. "I'm sorry." he said. "Practice whatever you need to. I... need to go." The clunk of the mic echoed through the hall as he set it on the floor and walked off the stage. As quickly as I could, I unlatched myself from the architecture and descended the ladder. The stage manager jumped up, trying to create order from the confusion, but I slipped away to find our missing star.

I found him sitting with his back against a pillar and his legs tucked to his chest. A few others were already there, standing at a distance unsure of what to do. I pushed through the crowd, met by the hand of his bodyguard. "He won't talk." the guard stated. I had to try anyway.

"Michael." I pleaded. After a moment's hesitation, he looked up, meeting my eyes. "Walk with me?"

He nodded and slowly stood up, motioning for the guard to let me pass. Together we walked out the back exit, not turning back and not worrying about where we were headed. Our footsteps and the distant noise of passing traffic were the only sounds to keep us company as we walked. Michael proceeded with his head low, the black fedora concealing his face. It was a good five minutes before he said anything.

"I was reading the newspaper this morning and there was this article... A dolphin had drowned in a local fishing net. From the picture, the dolphin was tangled up in the lines and it's eyes were vacant and filled with agony; but all the while, it kept that smile dolphins always have, even when they die..." his voice trailed off.

I looked at him then, wishing I could help ease his mind. "That's not all." he spoke. "It's not just that I'm upset over the death of an innocent animal. Dolphins are the dancers of the sea. They ask nothing of us, cavorting in the waves and racing ahead of ships, not to get there first, but to remind us that it's all meant to be play. Stick to your course but dance while you do it. These magnificent creatures dance in the waves with such grace, they command us to keep dancing, even in our darkest hour.

"In rehearsal today I couldn't help but feel like they were killing a dance. I can't solve the issue, so from one dancer to another, I decided, that's enough for today." he explained.

"Solutions will come, but you wanted them now." I replied, seeing the dilemma in his mind. He nodded, pausing at the bank of the river to look at the sun setting behind the horizon. I stood beside him, taking in the glory of the setting. The river seemed almost aflame in the orange glow that engulfed the world one last time before tucking away for the night.

"Perhaps if we wish it enough, a solution will come sooner." he proposed, watching the sky shift colors. "I used to make wishes all the time as a kid. Everything that I could possibly wish on, I used; including the sun. Just before it vanished from the sky I would make a wish so it would carry it on to the morning." So that's exactly what we did. As the last rays of sun slipped beneath the earth we wished for the day that the dance and the dancers would be respected and preserved. "Dancers may come and go in the twinkling of an eye, but the dance lives on." He promised, partly to himself, and partly to all the lost dancers of the sea.