DANCE by Sushifishie
Part Five
Kira listened, hearing only the whispers of wind rushing past the window. She'd had enough of lying in her cot, pretending to dance her performance. The only time when the village was deserted was for mealtimes. She wouldn't get another opportunity like this until lunch, and by that point, her mother might be worn out enough to lay down in her cot. No, this was the best time to practice.
Glancing out her window, she could see that the streets were deserted. Her window gave a direct view of the Gathering place, and she could often listen in on Village meetings. But, for now, the benches were vacated, and not a soul was in sight. Taking a breath, Kira decided that this was enough. She rose to her feet and walked wobbly to the center of the cabin.
Halfway there, only about two feet from her cot, she collapsed. Her legs didn't hurt, they just didn't support her either. They felt like jelly. It had been so long since she'd used them. . .
Determined, she put her knees on either side of her torso, bracing with her hands against the ground. She knew that if she couldn't even walk around her cabin, there was no way she would be able to Dance. She pushed herself to her feet, feeling rather proud when she got herself steadied.
Now that she was upright, she decided to try the opening part of her performance. It was a simple motion with her hands, a bit of a wave, then a spin. It only lasted two measures, so Kira was confident that she could do this one thing without falling over. With this confidence, she gained strength, and she took a deep breath. She could do this!
One—she raised her right arm so that it was straight out to the right and bent at the elbow. Two—moving it in a complete circle, keeping only her upper arm still, she raised her left arm into the same position as the right one had been in the first beat. Three—her right arm was still this time, and she did the wave with her left. Four—she dropped both arms to her sides, sharply, but without slapping her legs. Five—the right arm rested on Kira's lower back, bent at the elbow again. Six—the left arm followed, only resting in the front above her abdomen. Seven—her right foot crossed over the left with a pointed toe. Eight—she gave a full turn, bringing her feet together once again.
Letting out a deep breath, she walked unsteadily back over to her cot. She wondered how long those eight little steps had taken her. Was breakfast already over? Even if she had enough energy, would she be able to do the next eight beats? Gazing out the window, she expected to see some people leaking out of the breakfast cabin.
She gasped. Someone had seen her. It was a boy. She'd seen him before in her classes when she was younger. What was his name—Rei?
This was horrible. If anyone knew that she was up and moving, they would tell her mother. Her mother would force her to go out in public and have contact with people. In the village, there were many people that she didn't know. There were people that she hadn't even seen before! How could she get this one boy to keep his mouth shut?
Kira could see him approaching her cabin, very slowly. Panicking, she looked frantically for someplace to hide. If he told other people what he'd seen her doing, she would be forced into public. She didn't trust anyone she didn't know anymore. That night—she didn't know those people. They scared her out of her wits, and even three moons later, she was left like this, witless. She couldn't even keep herself from getting discovered.
He was in the cabin now. Kira thought that all was lost. But, she wouldn't go without a fight. She would have to talk to him. Although she had not made so much as a squeak in three months time, she figured that talking was something that came naturally. She would use her voice and convince him not to tell other people.
Finally, this boy was looking her straight in the eyes. Much to her surprise, he asked a question. "Are you Aso Kira?"
"Yes," she managed to get out in a low, hoarse, gravely voice. Was that what she sounded like? Immediately, she brought her hand to her throat. It hurt a little bit. To make sure he understood what he meant, she nodded her head.
"I'm sorry to have intruded," he bowed, never taking his eyes away from hers, "but I couldn't help but notice your beautiful dance. It was truly lovely."
"Thank you," she replied, struggling to let her voice work better. How was she supposed to convince him to keep it a secret, that she was up and moving around, without being able to talk?
"Listen," he began, after seeing her look of horror, "the Village rules state that I'm not supposed to your performance until after I complete the task. After all, I am a candidate this turn. So, I'm not going to tell anyone what happened here, all right? And, I would really appreciate it if you could keep it a secret, too. I wouldn't like to be banished."
"Of course," she said, letting her muscles work at the corner of her mouth. A slight smile appeared on her normally expressionless face.
"By the way," the boy grinned, pleased with this expression, "my name is Kashino Sei. Do you know how to. . ." he paused for a moment, contemplating the rudeness of continuing his statement, ". . .speak correctly?"
Kira nodded, with a bit of indignation. Of course she knew how to talk right! She wasn't some kind of idiot! She explained with as much anger as her voice would allow, "I haven't spoken to anyone for three moons."
"Well," he grimaced, having trouble deciphering what she said, "I think that you need a little more practice at it, and a lot more water, for sure."
After giving him a little bit of a glare, she asked him, "How am I supposed to practice when I have to keep quiet?" Already, she could feel the words rolling easier over her tongue. Her mouth was incredibly pasty and tasted like chalk, but it wasn't nearly as gravely. As she listened to Sei talk, she let her saliva moisten. It felt good to talk again.
"You'll have to practice in secret," Sei announced, seeming pleased with himself for coming up with such a great solution.
"When?" she barked, raising an eyebrow at his lack of planning. "And you can't expect me to talk by myself!"
"To every one of your questions, I seem to have a solution," he replied good-naturedly. "You can practice during morning chores, or at meals. Now, you won't be able to get any help during morning chores, because I refuse to bail out like my idiot brother. I will give up my meals, though, if you want me to help."
Kira was almost as surprised as Sei at the words that just came out of his mouth. He was going to help her talk better? Well, there was no one else. . . But, really! Wouldn't someone notice if he continued to skip meals day after day without any reason?
"I can always tell people that I'm working on a secret art project . . . a ring for whoever I choose as my Dance partner! That's it! When I'm in the art cabin, I could sneak some clay and make a ring, just for a prop in case someone remembers."
Dumbfounded, Kira stared into his eyes blankly. Here was this boy that she hardly knew. He was asking her to let him help her relearn the art of speech, and willing to lie to the entire community in order to do so. While she truly appreciated his kindness, was this really a natural effort for him? Didn't he want anything in return?
"What do you get out of it," she asked suspiciously. Her voice was extremely clear, and sounded like a very thirsty person who did indeed have practice speaking. It won her a smile from Sei.
"I don't know," he trailed off, not expecting that kind of question to be thrown his way. Feeling like he needed to respond in some way, he looked around the cabin for an object to give him an idea. "Wait!" he exclaimed as something caught his attention. He remembered now. He used to see Kira in the craft cabin often. She used to love to make pottery, and it was one of her bowls that he noticed on the floor by the door. "I know what I want," he announced with certainty.
"You know the ring I'm going to make?" he said, grinning with a wicked sort of smile. His teeth were very white, Kira noted—for some reason. She nodded in response, focusing on his mouth. The sounds he made came so naturally to him. How long would it be before she sounded natural again?
Sei continued, "You could help me make the ring! That way, it's sure to be perfect—if you work on it, Kira."
Blushing, she covered her face in her hands. Then, when she had faded to a dull pink, she looked up once again to find him wide-eyed and expectant. He wanted an answer, and she had to deliver.
"I dunno if I'm that good," she slurred, "but I'll try." She desperately wanted to speak right. Why?
"Okay, that's great," Sei said, shifting toward the door. "I'll be here tomorrow at breakfast, and I'll try to bring some clay." He craned his ear closer to the door and heard the sounds of people talking loudly. "I think breakfast is finished. I better run—don't want to reveal our secret!"
He winked, and dashed out the door, heading for his spot in the Gathering space. She watched him sit. She didn't know how long he stayed like that, but awhile later, his distressed friend came and found him.
Kira watched the friend, give his shoulder a little push. Sei stood from the bench and dusted off the back of his pants. Together, they headed to the craft cabin. Kira could have sworn he'd smiled at her, but she couldn't be sure. Once she was sure they were gone, she layed back down in her cot.
Why was it that she wanted to speak so badly? In truth, she knew the answer.
For the past several moons, she had been silent, wishing to protect herself from the danger she'd met in the woods. By staying silent, in her cabin, the terrors she'd faced on that night were of no threat. They could only haunt her in spirit, not in presence.
Today, though, she'd finally come in contact with someone who looked at her as, not a disturbed child, but a true friend. Sei was planning to help her, only accepting something in return when she forced him to. He was someone she wanted to protect. In order to protect him, her story needed to be known. She needed to communicate to someone the dangers that the forest held. She needed to speak.
Rolling over onto her belly, Kira tried to get his gleaming white teeth out of her mind. They continued to flash her a bright smile, no matter how hard she tried to get them out of her mind. Instead of dwelling on what had happened, she should be planning out the next eight counts of her performance! If anyone was going to believe her story, she was going to have to prove to them that she was sane. They all believed that she was loony—oh, yes, she fully understood the rumors. But, boy would they be wrong when they saw her perform!
Counting in her head, she went over her first eight steps, and the next ones came naturally. She picked up her skirt with her right hand, then her left. She pointed her right toe and put it in front of her left. She made a "D" movement with her right leg and brought her right foot behind her left. She knelt toward the ground and rose again to a count of four, completing a lovely curtsey. Oh, yes, she would show them! Although it was just a mental exercise for now, her curtsey was sure to win her a wonderful Dance partner.
Only now had Kira realized how tired this series of events had made her. She was so worn out that she put her head down on the cot and rolled onto her side. Curling into a ball, like she always did before she went to sleep, she brought herself into a fetal position. Letting out a deep sigh, she felt her body relaxing like it hadn't for three moons. It felt like her burden was lessened, just letting someone know that she wasn't insane. The true story would be out soon enough.
A small smile appeared on her face and she snuggled deeper into her cot. Before she fell asleep, she had a last, fleeting thought. Throughout the entire time she was talking to Sei, not once did she remember what happened in the woods that night. And that, at least, was a relief.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This was about the point when I noticed that this story wasn't going quite the way that I wanted it to go. I realized about here that the story kind of sucked the way I was writing it, and I knew that I could do a much better job of portraying my thoughts. But, I was still completely enthusiastic about using the story idea with the characters from MARS, so I continued writing it like this. I decided now that I want to have an extremely well constructed story, with several layers and side-stories, rather than a little piece thrown together chapter by chapter, and having to come up with explanations for mistakes I made in earlier chapters. But, still, I progressed to half-way through chapter seven, when I chose to start anew with a better and more original version of this same tale. I will post what I have so far, but know that it won't be finished—at least not in this manner.
Again—if you want to read the new, original, and better constructed story—well, you will have to tell me so, because I do not plan on posting it on the internet unless someone strongly encourages it.
Thank you for reading my crappy and unfinished story! Please review—I want to know how to make the real story even better than this one!