A Waltz in the Sky

She was busy scribbling down her thoughts into a leather-bound notebook. After penning down her final thoughts, she put down her ink pen and stared out the window. It was a beautiful night. The moon was full and bright and the stars were like twinkling lights. The serene beauty of it all made her want to weep.

This was it. She said goodnight to her parents and locked the door. Then she moved her chair towards the window and opened it. A cool draft permeated the room and she shivered in her nightclothes. Then she climbed up her chair and took a peep out the window.

Down below, the city was quiet. Out in the distance, she could make out the streetlamps dotting the night like little city stars. She felt a wistful ache in her heart. This was what she would miss, staring out into the night when the city was silent and just taking it all in. She moved to step out of the window.

“What are you doing?”

She paused, holding her breath. Had somebody found out what she was doing?  Then she turned around gingerly and looked around her room. There was nobody there. She heaved a sigh of relief and turned back to the world outside.

She let out a little yelp and nearly fell off the ledge. There was a man outside her window, 20 stories off the ground, floating.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, miss! I was just wondering what you were doing.” He said apologetically, putting his arms out towards her, preventing her from falling.

“I-I-I was just… Well… The um… Nothing.” She stammered.

The man grinned in response. He was quite stunningly handsome. His hair was as white as the starlight and his eyes were as deep a blue as the night sky. He was also wearing a silver suit with a wine red waistcoat and a black top hat with a wine red ribbon trimming. And he was floating.

“Well if you have nothing on your agenda this evening, I was wondering if we might go for a stroll.” He said conversationally, as if floating 20 stories off the ground and talking to girls in the middle of the night were a perfectly normal event.

“A stroll? In the middle of the night? Where?” she asked.

He spread out his arm towards the moon. Then he cocked his eyebrow at her and smiled. She nearly fell again from feeling a little lightheaded at seeing his smile. A man shouldn’t have that kind of effect on women, it’s positively criminal, she thought. As if he heard her thoughts, his smile turned into a grin. He stretched out a gloved hand towards her.

She paused for a moment, “I won’t fall?”

“Does it matter?” he asked, with that stunningly mischievous grin still upon his face.

Then, despite herself, she took his outstretched hand and let herself go.

 

He lifted her off the window ledge as if she weighed nothing. She gasped at the shock of feeling nothing beneath her feet. Yet, it somehow felt solid, as if she could walk across it without falling through! She let out a surprised giggle. Then the giggle turned into a genuine laugh. She was… floating, nearly flying. The man smiled at her and gave her a little twirl. She hadn’t felt this happy in such a long time and she could feel herself tearing up at the overwhelming stream of feelings. It was as if a dam had been broken.

The man led her up into the clouds, towards the brilliant full moon. The rush of wind through her hair was refreshing. Despite the chill of the night, she did not feel cold at all. It was as if the warmth of happiness in her chest had spread throughout her entire body. They then descended upon the clouds where a patio table and chair stood waiting.

She felt her feet touch semi-solid ground. It was a peculiar feeling, as if she were walking on marshmallows. Upon the table was a high-tea set. There were biscuits and scones and little savory treats. Best of all, there was a pot of tea waiting for her. The man pulled out her chair for her and then took his own. She stared at the treats but made no move to approach them.

“Go on,” he urged. “I’ve prepared this specially for you.”

“Oh I can’t, I’ll get fat.” She said wistfully, staring at one of the delicious strawberry shortcakes on the 3-tier cake stand. “Did you do this to torment me?”

“Torment you? Why in heaven’s name would I want to do that?” he asked in disbelief.

“You’ve put this table of delicious food in front of me and I can’t eat it. It’s positively unhealthy and not to mention, fattening!” she responded, getting a bit angry.

“Does it matter?” he cocked his eyebrow at her.

She thought about it for a moment, before she grabbed a scone off the plate and bit into it enthusiastically. The scone was piping hot and fresh. The sweet flavor of it filled her mouth and teased her taste buds. It was nothing short of delicious. The man watched her devour the plate with a lazy smile upon his face, as if he couldn’t help himself but feel happiness at the sight of her enjoying her food. He poured some tea into her cup. The rich aroma of the earl grey permeated the air. While she nibbled on her biscuits and cakes, she stared at the moon in wonder.

“I never knew how beautiful the moon could be…” she sighed.

“You knew,” he responded, “You always knew, that was why you always held back. It was the only thing holding you back. It was also a reason for why you wanted to let go.”

She whipped her head around to look at him in shock. He knew? From the look upon his face, she could tell that he did. She put her biscuit down and took a sip of the tea, hoping that it would calm her nerves. Despite it all, she felt herself feeling contentment and happiness for the first time in what seemed like forever.

“I came to you tonight because you couldn’t find a reason to not let go anymore. I came to you because you believed in the beauty of the night. And I came to you because you needed someone to understand.” He stated, tracing the edge of his own teacup.

His deep blue eyes flicked up to look upon her, as if gauging her reaction to his words. She looked confused and a little bit shocked. All this time, she had thought that she was alone and helpless. She felt tears fall from her face at the revelation that there was somebody out there who understood. She felt relieved.

“Don’t let go.” He whispered as he took her hand and guided her into a dance.

They left the table behind, waltzing through the clouds with the moonlight guiding their steps. She felt safe and stronger than she had ever been in his arms, dancing on thin air. Laughing as he lifted her up into the air and twirled her in his arms, sheer jubilation coursed within her.

As they waltzed back to her window, a bittersweet feeling filled her heart. The most magical night of her life was drawing to an end. Tears threatened to fall and her world was a blur.

“Don’t let go.” She whispered to him when they descended onto her window ledge.

“Does it matter?” she heard him say as she gripped his hand like a lifeline.

“Yes.” She said, tears falling now.

She said it with all the conviction in her heart. Because, she realized, it actually does matter. She closed her eyes and squeezed them shut, willing the night to memory, wishing that it would never end.

Just before she felt the pressure of his hand disappear, the wind seemed to whisper, “I won’t let go if you don’t.”

When she opened her eyes again, he was gone, dissipated into the night sky. Tears began to fall in earnest now as she gave in to the ache in her heart. She sobbed and cried and poured her heart out, letting the grief and sadness take its course. When she was done, she fell into a deep sleep, with the moonlight draped over her like a blanket.

 

The next morning, her mother woke up to find her in the dining room drinking tea and eating scones, reading the morning papers. Her mother looked shocked at her appearance.

“Good morning! I’ve made some scones and tea is in the pot.” She glanced at her mother and gave her a smile.

“H-how… Well… um… How are you feeling?” her mother asked gingerly.

“Better that I’ve ever felt in a long time.” She smiled. “I had the most wonderful dream last night. And, well, yeah. It was brilliant. I’m happy.”

She thought about the night and felt herself smile even wider, glowing with happiness and contentment. It was all good, she thought as she closed her eyes, reminiscing about the waltz in the sky.

Reviews

[Aislinn]

Oh my goodness. You are incredibly talented. I love this story.