She closed her eyes and twirled, her deep ebony hair swinging with her enchanting gyration. Dress fanning out, a plain white canvas upon which the stained glass cast a myriad of colours onto. Her feet moved in and out; crossing in, extending out, hopping softly, arms raised then down then extended straight all in one fluid motion.
She danced to an audience, the centre of a wide circle of people dressed in luxurious silks. Suits and vests, dresses that needed servants to carry the ends. They all gawked at her; why wouldn’t they? She was perfect. She smiled wide, chest swelling with pride.
She pranced along the ballroom, the music loud in her head. The symphony of the violin leapfrogging over the piano’s melody in a battle where her ears were the reward. She began humming the tune softly to herself, moving her body in accordance under the rainbow spotlight–
Thud.
Static.
Bang.
She opened her eyes. She was on all fours. She’d fallen?
A caved in radio sprawled out before her; a cluttered room surrounding her. She wore an oversized hoodie, splattered with innumerable stains of unknown origin. Books and pencils, papers and clothes, eyeliner and lipstick all littered throughout the room. A cacophony of colours drowned out by a dull brown light piercing through the closed curtains into her bedroom.
She pushed off the ground, wincing as her joints ached. She began humming a tune to herself. She closed her eyes, they stung with salty tears, and she twirled on aching legs. Her dull black hair swinging with her clumsy gyration.
Saye Kamal 