Status: oneshot.
Dancing Queen.
1/1
The first thing I noticed about her was that she was beautiful. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Her hair was dark and wavy like the lake water at night, and her skin was pale like the moon. She was absolutely stunning and tragically beautiful. But she could never tell, because she was blind.
Her eyes were blurry and unfocused, and they caught me off guard the first time I saw them. They were blue, but covered with a milky white film. When her mother introduced us, she smiled with the most beautiful smile. Her lips were cherry red and her teeth were perfectly white.
“Hello, Jacob.” Her voice was soft and melodic, floating out of her mouth and into my ears angelically.
“Hello, Maria.” I stuttered, unable to tear my eyes away from hers. They seemed to add to her beauty, make her seem more magical than she already was.
She wasn’t born blind. She had been diagnosed with ocular melanoma when she was sixteen, and the cancer had ruined her eyesight. She used to spend a lot of time describing things to me, how she imagined they looked now. She talked with her hands a lot, made shapes that described what she was thinking.
We spent a lot of time together that summer. We were the only ones each other’s ages, and we clicked instantly. We would always talk near the lake, on top of the large black rocks, under the weeping willows that surrounded it. She told me her dreams, and how they had changed.
“I wanted to be a dancer. A ballerina, to be specific.” She told me once, smiling widely over the water that she could no longer see. “It would be impossible now. I couldn’t learn the choreography and I would be bumping into everyone.” She said with a laugh. Her laugh always made me smile. It was so happy and carefree. You would think it didn’t belong to a girl destined to die young.
I tried not to think about that fact much, but it always seemed to lurk in the back of my mind. Every time I would see her walking with her mother up to my lake house, I would smile and then it would falter because I knew one of these days I wouldn’t see her again. The thought occurred to me all throughout our friendship, up to the point when I fell in love with her.
She got progressively worse as the summer went on. The treatments weren’t working anymore. The doctors said there might not be any hope. I used to cry at night thinking about this, about losing her. But during the day, when we were together, I would always be happy for her. Not that she needed the extra happiness. She was always as bright as the sunshine.
One day when things were really bad, we were sitting in our usual spot by the lake. She turned to me, her voice softer than usual.
“Jacob?”
“Yes, Maria?”
“This might sound silly, but…would you mind if we danced? I know I don’t have long, and I’ve been wanting to ask you all summer, but I didn’t know when to, and now we’re running out of time, and I want to dance with you before I leave.” She said quietly, reaching out for my hand. I had to close my eyes to keep the tears at bay.
“Of course, Maria.” I said, helping her up and holding her close. She began to hum softly, and we began moving in time to her humming. She was so frail, so fragile, I was afraid that if I held her too close, she would break in my hands.
We spent forever like this, moving slightly through the rocks, with an occasional spin and a dip. Soon, she rested her head against my chest.
“Jacob?”
“Yes, Maria?”
“Will you kiss me?”
“Of course, Maria.” I said softly, leaning down and pressing my lips against hers. That was the moment I realized I was in love with her. I nearly broke down into tears as I wrapped my arms around her, because I knew no matter how much I loved her, she wouldn’t stay with me.
She pulled away first, reaching up and gently touching my cheek.
“Thank you.”
Soon it was dark and I had to return her to her house. I held her close, never wanting to let her go.
“No matter what, Jacob, know that I love you.” She smiled up at me, giving me a perfect last memory of her. Her eyes shone with happiness while mine shone with tears.
“I love you too, Maria.” I whispered. She walked inside her house, and I never saw her again.
I still think of her time to time, and the moment we danced together, the moment I fell in love with the girl who would never stay. She was an angel, and she wasn’t mine to keep.
Her eyes were blurry and unfocused, and they caught me off guard the first time I saw them. They were blue, but covered with a milky white film. When her mother introduced us, she smiled with the most beautiful smile. Her lips were cherry red and her teeth were perfectly white.
“Hello, Jacob.” Her voice was soft and melodic, floating out of her mouth and into my ears angelically.
“Hello, Maria.” I stuttered, unable to tear my eyes away from hers. They seemed to add to her beauty, make her seem more magical than she already was.
She wasn’t born blind. She had been diagnosed with ocular melanoma when she was sixteen, and the cancer had ruined her eyesight. She used to spend a lot of time describing things to me, how she imagined they looked now. She talked with her hands a lot, made shapes that described what she was thinking.
We spent a lot of time together that summer. We were the only ones each other’s ages, and we clicked instantly. We would always talk near the lake, on top of the large black rocks, under the weeping willows that surrounded it. She told me her dreams, and how they had changed.
“I wanted to be a dancer. A ballerina, to be specific.” She told me once, smiling widely over the water that she could no longer see. “It would be impossible now. I couldn’t learn the choreography and I would be bumping into everyone.” She said with a laugh. Her laugh always made me smile. It was so happy and carefree. You would think it didn’t belong to a girl destined to die young.
I tried not to think about that fact much, but it always seemed to lurk in the back of my mind. Every time I would see her walking with her mother up to my lake house, I would smile and then it would falter because I knew one of these days I wouldn’t see her again. The thought occurred to me all throughout our friendship, up to the point when I fell in love with her.
She got progressively worse as the summer went on. The treatments weren’t working anymore. The doctors said there might not be any hope. I used to cry at night thinking about this, about losing her. But during the day, when we were together, I would always be happy for her. Not that she needed the extra happiness. She was always as bright as the sunshine.
One day when things were really bad, we were sitting in our usual spot by the lake. She turned to me, her voice softer than usual.
“Jacob?”
“Yes, Maria?”
“This might sound silly, but…would you mind if we danced? I know I don’t have long, and I’ve been wanting to ask you all summer, but I didn’t know when to, and now we’re running out of time, and I want to dance with you before I leave.” She said quietly, reaching out for my hand. I had to close my eyes to keep the tears at bay.
“Of course, Maria.” I said, helping her up and holding her close. She began to hum softly, and we began moving in time to her humming. She was so frail, so fragile, I was afraid that if I held her too close, she would break in my hands.
We spent forever like this, moving slightly through the rocks, with an occasional spin and a dip. Soon, she rested her head against my chest.
“Jacob?”
“Yes, Maria?”
“Will you kiss me?”
“Of course, Maria.” I said softly, leaning down and pressing my lips against hers. That was the moment I realized I was in love with her. I nearly broke down into tears as I wrapped my arms around her, because I knew no matter how much I loved her, she wouldn’t stay with me.
She pulled away first, reaching up and gently touching my cheek.
“Thank you.”
Soon it was dark and I had to return her to her house. I held her close, never wanting to let her go.
“No matter what, Jacob, know that I love you.” She smiled up at me, giving me a perfect last memory of her. Her eyes shone with happiness while mine shone with tears.
“I love you too, Maria.” I whispered. She walked inside her house, and I never saw her again.
I still think of her time to time, and the moment we danced together, the moment I fell in love with the girl who would never stay. She was an angel, and she wasn’t mine to keep.