" You only truly miss someone when they are gone.
And sometimes, it's hard to let go.
But you have to let him go..."
It is hard when your loved one is gone. But for Riley, it was something different. In a sick sort of way, she loved it-reminiscing...
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Standing on her toes , she did a long graceful piqué and then did a high sauté. She felt numb to her bones while moving gracefully at the same time. She turned around with a graceful hand, her neck high, her collar bones jutting out . Ballet was another one of her big escapes that made her feel like something else, something not alive and living.
Another chassė, her black skirt flying in a circle, the royal orchestral music, her friend for the time being.
And at the end, she gracefully fell back like a silk; her ribs bending, her head reaching her back, her hands falling on the back of her legs .
And after that, a big round of applause from the other students reverberating along the mirrored walls. And once again, reality called Riley back. Her stance broke and she looked up to see the smiling faces of the crowd. Specially of Sir Cassel, whose eyes were brighter than ever, his mustache curved along with his wide smile. He clapped the loudest, he was very proud of his student.
Riley gave a small courteous bow, without a smile and soon the crowd broke up. That was not the Riley they had known all their lives.
Riley silently took all her things out from the locker, changing into her usual baggy clothes accompanied with the hoodie. And as she made her way out, she heard a familiar voice call her out.
It was Sir Cassel, his short curly hair bouncing while he walked towards Riley .
"Ri-lee. Hi."
"Hello Sir Cassel. Can I help you?" Riley wondered as to what he wanted.
"Ri-lee, you are the best senior dancer we have. Some people from Juilliard is going to come to Cloverlind. Perhaps if they see you.... Would you like to perform....?" Sir Cassel left it at that. And for once, there was some sort of light, a very weak and frail beam, almost unseenable light at the end of the dark tunnel. And she knew that she had to hold on to it faster or else, there was no hook to latch herself on to.
She always wanted to get away from Cloverlind as soon as possible. She was tired of people knowing. She was tired of looking at the faces of the same people, looking at her like some sort of thing they could pity on, she was tired of seeing half of the land full of dead....she was tired of so many things in there. But high-school was the only thing that tied her back and along with that, maybe something else too...
So that was her chance to say goodbye and start fresh.
"Yes."
Few blocks away from her ballet school, turning left on her bike, she noticed a dot of baby-pink from afar in the greenery of trees. Riley paid no mind to it, thinking some cloth stuck in the bushes. But as she came closer, and was right about to pass off beside it, she caught a wisp of blonde curl and a whimper.
Riley immediately stopped, the sole of her sneakers scratching against the gravel, her tires screeched as she abruptly came to a halt.
It was a girl, no older than 5, with her head full of golden-blonde curls and rosy cheeks. But her blue eyes held river full of tears. She was sobbing, standing alone at the side of a road that held no soul until Riley came along.
