Dancing Dream

The orphanage

    “Nao, Ma mai,” I cried.

    “Andressa, I’m sorry,” she said. “You have to go. Eu amor tu. Take this and I promise to be back when I can.”

    My mother placed a necklace around my neck; a golden rose on a chain. With it, she gave me her biggest promise of all, that she would love me no matter what.

    “Promise you will be back?”

    “I promise,” she replied and I was left alone at the gates of an orphanage.

_____

“Hey, look at Andalusia,” said a male voice.

I knew he was talking about me. I ignored it though and continued reading my book until he took  it from my hands.

“Hey! Give it back.”

“Why? So you can become a dancer?” he mocked. “You’ll never be a dancer.”

“AH UGH,”  I screamed and jumped on top of him.

“Luta! Luta!” the other kids surrounded us and chanted as we fought.

“Your mother abandoned you,” he continued. “She left you because she didn’t love you.”

He snatched the necklace from my neck and threw it to his friend, Duarte, behind him. Upon catching it, he ran off. As I tried to get up and get it, The same boy from before pulled me back and pinned me to the ground.

          "Henrique!" Mother Superior yelled. "Let go of Andressa, agora!"

           He finally let go of me and left a large bruise on my arm. 

          "Happy?" He sassed.

          "Go to your bed. I don't want to see you again today, and give Andressa her book back."

          He threw me my book and stormed off to the boy side of the orphanage. I think I saw him turn around and glare at me for a second. 

         "Andressa, come with me."

         "But…"

         "I said 'come with me'."

         I followed behind her as the other orphans watched. I could feel their eyes on me and I felt embarrassed for what I did. 

          I brought my hand up to figet with my necklace, but then I remembered it was gone. How was I ever going to get it back?

         We walked into her office. The walls were made of a white stone and the floor was cold to the touch. She sat in her chair and told me to sit. 

         "Andressa, what was that about?" She asked.

         "He took my book."

         "All of that over a book?"

         I started to cry. My tears dripped to the floor with little tinks like water on a windowsill. 

          "Andressa, tell me what happened."

          With tears welling up, I told her that he said my mother never loved me and that he took the only thing I had to remember her by. 

          "Oh, Andressa," she said softly. "Come here."

          I stood up and got the biggest hug I had ever had since my mother left me.