Pirouette

Prologue

"That's it, Fiona! Spin, keep going!"

Grinning as her father watched her dance, Fiona kept spinning around and around on her first pointe shoe, doing her very first pirouette. "Daddy, I'm doing it! Look, look!"

"I'm looking!" Her father chuckled, watching proudly from the sideline. "That's my girl."

Returning to fourth position, Fiona squealed happily at her father. "I did it! Oh, my gosh, I did it, daddy!"

"For sure, sweetpea," He stretched his arms out to her. "Come here, my beautiful girl."

Fiona ran into her father's arms and hugged him, almost crying with happiness. She clutched him tightly and felt him kiss the top of her head as he hugged her right back.

"I'm so proud of you, princess," He told and pecked her cheek. He drew back to look at his daughter with a face full of love written across his features. Fiona smiled brightly up at him. "You're gonna kick some ballerina butt at your audition tomorrow. Are you sure this is still what you want?"

Fiona nodded frantically. "I wanna be a ballerina! Just like Lizzi's mommy!"

"Alright, alright, it's your call," Her father sighed and then patted her on her arm. "I just don't want you breaking any of your beautiful bones. Your ma and me spent so much time making that letter to the stork about how we wanted you, so don't you go tripping over those perfect little feet of yours."

Fiona giggled and shook her head. "OK, I won't. Can I try one more pirouette, please, daddy?"

"Of course, baby. Try getting on your leg a little more this time, your foot was traveling. Or so this book says," Her father held up a book with a ballet slipper on the front. "I swear I'll be fluent in French by the time I finish this baddie. Anything for my little girl."

Fiona giggled and jumped back out onto the garage floor, taking fourth position again. Her dad sat down in his chair like before and crossed his arms over his chest, watching his daughter with a smile. She then set off into her second pirouette, spinning around on the floor.

"That's it, princess," Her father cheered. "That's good! Remember your leg. Keep staring at the star we drew on the wall. Don't lose focus, you're almost—ugh," He suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence and choked on his words. His face started turning red. Fiona instantly stopped spinning and stared worriedly at him.

"Daddy?"

"Mmng," He choked out, just as his hand shot to his left arm and his eyes expanded. He stared straight at her. "Fi..."

"Daddy!" Fiona screamed as he fell off his chair and collapsed on the floor, his whole body rigid. "Daddy, what's happening! Daddy!"

His body strained for another two seconds, but then all of a sudden, he stopped moving. Fiona looked at her father in shock for moment, but then fell to her knees besides him and shook him.

"Daddy, wake up! Wake up, it isn't funny!" She cried. Why wasn't he moving? She didn't like his joke. "Daddy! Daddy, stop playing, I don't like it. Daddy! Please wake up, dad, please... p-please... please! daddy!"

• • •

Lion King all over again.