For the writing-prompts I'm doing on tumblr. freshliciousflower asked for "You can trust me." for Rosita and Gunter. :)
Dancing Routine
"Zhis is easy, Rosita," Gunter says. "You just fall back and I catch you."
"Yeah, easy-peasy!" Rosita replies with a nervous laugh.
Dancing is one thing as long as she can keep her feet on the ground, but doing this move is a totally different thing.
What if Gunter lets her fall? What if she does something wrong and he can't catch her even if he tries?
"Come on, Rosita!" Gunter says. "Let's try again!"
Rosita gives a determined nod.
Well, she can at least try.
They start their routine, and Rosita twirls and gets the steps just right, and then the moment comes when she's supposed to fall back in some sort a pretended swoon, and Gunter is supposed to catch.
The moment comes and passes and Rosita is still standing.
Gunter looks at her, nodding his head, and Rosita tells herself that it's safe, but still, she keeps standing.
"Rosita?" Gunter asks.
"I'm so sorry, Gunter!" she says, slapping her hand against her forehead. "I don't seem to be able to do it!"
"Let's try, like, again from the start, no?" Gunter suggests, and Rosita nods.
Again, they get their routine right, and the moment of her played swoon comes – and passes. Again.
And she's still standing there, her feet somehow rooted to the ground.
"Argh!" she cries out. "Why can't I do this!?"
"Rosita," Gunter says, and Rosita can't remember having him seen so serious before. "Don't you trust me?"
"No. No!" Rosita replies. "That's not it. It's just that …"
Well, what is it? It's not she doesn't trust Gunter, because she does, she really does.
It's just that she's afraid of letting herself fall backwards. Not because she's afraid that he won't catch her, no, it's because …
Okay, it's because she's afraid he won't catch her.
And that's ridiculous. Because this is Gunter, and he's a great guy and he would never let anyone down.
So why doesn't she trust him on this one?
She trusted him when they picked a song. She trusted him when it came to deciding on the moves for her routine. She trusts him when they start their dance and when he twirls her around, so why can't she trust him when it comes to catching her?
If she can trust him on anything else she should be able to trust him on this one, too, right?
"Okay, let's try zhis," Gunter says and walks behind her. "Just let yourself fall back, no? I'm right here. I catch you."
Rosita has heard of this exercise before. It's to learn trust. She's never done it, though.
"But …"
"I'm right here. I catch you," Gunter says again.
Rosita takes a deep breath. She can see Gunter's shadow on the floor. Yes, he is there, right behind her. And it should be easy for him to catch her.
But what if something distracts him? What if she's heavier than he thinks and he can't hold her? What if …?
Stop that, Rosita, just do it!
She takes one more deep breath and lets herself fall backwards.
And Gunter catches her.
Rosita laughs a little when he does, and the male pig smiles at her.
"See?" he says as he rights her again. "You can trust me."
Rosita nods. "Yes, I know."
Actually, she knew that before, she just needed to stop thinking and just do it.
"Let's try our dance again, no?" Gunter says, and Rosita nods.
They dance, Rosita twirls around and the moment comes to do her played swoon. She lets herself fall backwards, and Gunter catches her.
They both look at each other, giving a little relieved laugh.
It's the moment Rosita realizes it has never been so much about trusting Gunter.
It's been a lot more about trusting herself.