A Song and a Dance

It was just another day. Another among many others. All the same. Striving to survive. How could anyone live like this? Couldn't they feel the Earth's pull? Its pain from all the destruction they're causing? What would they do when it was all gone? Did they think they would survive? These thoughts drifted in and out of her head as she stared out the window, oblivious to all around her. On the outside she blended in perfectly. Long, wavy brown hair, tanned limbs, oval face. Except her eyes. They were a silvery navy blue with flecks of brown. Most of the time she could hide it, behind those absurd contact lenses. Well, they did turn out useful after all so maybe they weren't that absurd.  But they still didn't do a good job; they didn’t cover her colour completely. The fake iris weren’t the same size as hers. If the lens moved, anyone could see the silvery blue if they looked closely enough.

Her breath caught. Once again she struggled to get a deep breath. Breathing wasn’t a problem. Sometimes she just couldn’t get enough air into her. It was beginning to get annoying. She didn’t have this problem a few months ago. She blamed the environment. How could these people stand it? The four walls might have been cages for all she cared, it wouldn’t have made a difference. They were like prisoners moving between rooms. That was all. "Renowned school my foot!" she thought. What was it the leech in the pink blouse and pants said when she came to apply? Something about a creative learning process, with lots of room to move about and activities. Hah! Lots of room compared to what? A hole? No! In a hole you would be able to dig and make more room. No idea what THIS was.

A screech interrupted her thoughts. Ears ringing, she turned her head so that it faced the inside, searching for the source of the noise even though she didn’t see what difference it would make. It never entered their thick skulls that some people might not appreciate the screeching and other high-pitched noises they seemed able to produce.  There he was, in the orange shirt, the culprit. He was already smiling sheepishly, knowing the discomfort it caused. Raising an eyebrow and with a slight tilt of a corner of her lips, she turned back to the window. She had pushed it open earlier, relishing the warm air and cool wind it brought. Anything to get rid of that environment-polluting unnatural cold air. She stared longingly at the sun rays bouncing of the building across. What she would give to ditch this hole and spend a day outdoors again. Even a snow-cold day outdoors was better than the unnatural cold indoors.

Another high-pitched noise snatched her attention. Even their voices got to her at times. She turned and watched them fool around, remembering the endless trouble they had caused her when she offered to plan a trip for them. All the excuses once planning was underway. They were so pampered, these spoilt brats. Fickle-minded as well. Everything was given to them on a silver platter. What she wouldn’t give to launch them off a cliff and be done with them. Another year and a half with them. The mere thought of it made her shudder. Another shriek (from her point of view - or hearing in this case) sliced her thoughts. Grimacing she reached for her MP3 and plugged her ears, letting the music take her. Even then their screeching and squawking pierced the headphones. Sighing, she drew a deep breath and let it out slowly.

She wasn't like this every day. Some days she got along well with them. They would laugh and fool around. Some days she would plaster a smile and grin now and then. Other days, like today, she just felt detached. Like she was an observer. The thought intrigued her, to be honest. A person who went through life as an observer. Someone who didn't fit it in, who didn't care that they didn't fit in. Were there people like that? Everyone seemed to care about what everyone else thought of them. In fact, they were near obsessed with it!

A slight rustle of the leaves in a tree caught her attention. She watched as the branches swayed gracefully, the leaves on them dancing to the tune only they could hear. A leaf curved to the left, bending at the tip. The one next to it didn’t curve but bent backwards completely. Each doing their own dance, not caring that they did not match the other. It should have looked a mess. But it didn't. It was beautiful to watch.

Closing her eyes, she leaned back, letting the slight breeze caress her cheek. She could almost hear the tune it played for the leaves. Letting her mind wander, almost thinking about nothing consciously. The music from her headphones seemed to blend with the breeze. Maybe that was the tune the wind was playing. Something pulled at her consciousness. She tried to catch it but it skipped out of her reach. Concentrating harder, she tried again. Once again it slipped away just as she thought she had it in her grasp. It was like a dance, the music played by the wind. Finally, she let it go and opened her eyes. She felt like it had been something important. Like it would finally answer all her questions about herself. Like it would help explain why she was the way she was.

To be continued…


by Cassandra Teo