“Come on, Laya! I’m begging you!”
Laya sits alone in a silent room. It is spacious and filled with all kinds of refined furniture. A crystal lamp, an antique sofa, a silvered mirror… This environment creates a fairytale-like atmosphere.Laya giggles. She adores fairytales, as all young girls do.
But it is way too quiet here. This eerie silence makes Laya feel uneasy. She wishes there was some music, so she could, she could…
She could do what, exactly?
That’s right! So she could dance! How could Laya forget about her biggest passion? Ever since she was a little girl, waltz has been all she could think about. Laya’s grandma (was?) is wealthy, so she (had?) has a big, vast dancing hall in her mansion. That’s where the girl saw the beauty of this elegant dance for the first time.
Laya wants to waltz here, in this mysterious, but pretty room.
(How did she get here?)
That is not relevant now. It is a pity that there is no music that Laya could dance to. She gets up from a velvet armchair (and feels the paralysing pain in her legs.) When she gets up, she feels light as a feather and ready to move around some more.
Then, all of a sudden, she hears a noise.
-
“Laya, please! You have to hear me, right? Do you hear me?”
-
Laya detects the sound of a beautiful melody. She can’t tell where it’s coming from, but that does not matter. This is mesmerizing. The chords of the melody form together a graceful union of piano and violin. The sound of bells tingling is gentle but prominent. The feeling of enlightenment overcomes Laya. This song is so crystal, so clear, so truly pure, so… so…
It feels like a Christmas Eve. Like the chiming of bells, the sound of falling snow. The heartfelt laughter around her. The warmth from the fireplace, the smell of freshly baked cookies.
This song feels like a memory.
“Dancing Bears
Painted Wings
Things I almost remember.
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December.”
-
“Don’t leave us, Laya! Please!”
“Mom! Please, wake up!”
-
Yes, this song is perfect for a waltz. Laya is determined to pour her heart and soul into this dance. There is no one to dance with, but that is no problem. Laya’s skills are sufficient to make this waltz the magnum opus of her life.
As the music goes on, smooth and graceful like a swirling wind, Laya is waltzing around the hall (with agonizing pain) with ease. Her movements are precise and confident. A perfect performance, a perfect place, a perfect song…
Laya is having the (death rattle) time of her life right now!
“Someone holds me safe and warm.
Horses prance through a silver storm.
Figures dancing gracefully across my memory.”
-
The tiny hospital room is crammed with crying people. Everywhere there are high-pitched sounds of people screaming, wailing, and begging. All of them are gathered around one bed.
There, an elderly woman lies, showing no signs of life.
The doctor, who was planning to tell the entire family the bad news, decides against it. All of them must have realized it by now. He just stands in the corner of the room, feeling helpless.
The only other silent person in this room is the elderly man who sits beside the hospital bed. He is quietly holding the hand of the old woman, obvious to the loud sounds around him. After some time, the man finally whispers:
“You’ve done well, Laya. Your performances will never be forgotten. Rest peacefully, my dear.”
-
The refined room in Laya’s consciousness is filled with the blinding light. The young girl keeps dancing, enjoying the sound of the surrounding music. At this very moment, she is a snowflake, twirling around the house. (The house that has been her home for 50 years. She is the warmth that gathers her children and grandchildren in the living room.
They have all gathered around her once again, for one last time.
Laya hopes that they spend a wonderful Christmas together.)
-
"Far away,
Long ago,
Glowing dim as an ember,
Things my heart
Used to know
Things it yearns to remember"
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