"I told you, the music says whatever I want..."

 

 

 

Weightlessness.
It was a marvelous feeling.  I lifted my arms above my
head and swayed, enjoying the feel of the water as it
swished against my bare legs and the bejeweled floor
as it caressed underneath my feet.
“Oh, I love it here,” I said softly. “ Thank you for
bringing me here.”
She only smiled and nodded, blushing bashfully I
think.  I had begun to lose myself again as I
continued to sway, biting into my second fruit as I
left it suspended between my teeth and sucked slowly.
The taste was heavenly.
 

I did not realize it was a young man until he came,
holding my shoulders and leaning forward to bite out
of my fruit as he passed by. 

 

I was so startled that I
swallowed the rest of the fruit in a large gulp,
blinking furiously as the lump went down with a
choking feeling.
“Why… who…?” I spluttered.
She was grinning.  “I think my cousin has taken a
fancy to you. He is full of mischief.”
I pounded my fist on my chest gently as I coughed,
glaring after the quickly departing figure amongst the
other ones.  “Well, I think your cousin needs to be
taught a lesson," I said.
Her eyes lit up excitedly.  “Yes, yes, shall you
chase him?”
He was swaying gracefully in the water by another ledge
covered with fruit and flowers. 

I frowningly approached him

and splashed water as he held a fruit
to his mouth.  I rejoiced heartily as it dripped from his hair
and face. 

But he only grinned and turned to regard
me, tiny droplets of water caught in the long
eyelashes that framed the large, beautiful gray eyes.
“You are a stranger,” he said.
“I know," I replied cheekily. He smiled.
“Yet if you are a special friend of my cousin you
will be a special friend to me as well," he continued.
“Why?” I asked suspiciously.
“Because the music says so," he replied.
“It does?” I asked.
“  It says whatever I want," he replied.
“It does?” I asked curiously.
He grinned again and suddenly splashed water all over
me, drenchig my dress, that had not been completely wet, and
blinding me briefly as I spluttered once more, not
fully recovered.
I glared at him with rage.  The battle had begun.

Water splashed about and soon fruits and flowers as
well as I returned every blow with an equal vengeance.
 Others joined in for fun, stirring the water as
we all jumped and danced and threw fruit and spurted
water. 

I was soon laughing so hard that I felt that
my sides would split and I fell back from the crowd,
trying to escape. 

But his hand gripped mine as I
retreated and held me firmly at his side.
“We dance!” he announced loudly.
The playful game was ended and circles were formed
and dancing carried on.  But he held me out of the
circles so that somehow we danced alone.

*                *                *                *                * 

 

 

 

The hall was such a strange place. 

It changed with various scenes merging and then separating, like the
reflections of spinning mirrors that sometimes spun
fast and sometimes spun slow. 

For the others had
slowly faded away, like my waif had done as I walked
away from her. 

 

We were left dancing alone; her cousin and I,

two smiling strangers
surrounded by the music.
“I told you the music says whatever I want,” he
said to me.

 

Reviews

[Lauren Xena Campbell]

You most certainly have my attention! Who is this strange cousin, and shall the flame of romance be shortly kindled? And still all my questions continue, who is the waif? How did this place come to be? Will something dark befall this magical realm?

And also I have to congratulate you on how artfully you have written this with no name mentioning, no labeling of any kind, this is hard to do and you have done it well, adding to the mystery of this wondrous world you have fashioned. Well done!