In Black And White, I'm Blue ✔

Chapter Five: Love Letters

The studio my father made for me was spacious, almost too large for one person. The floor was polished oak, smooth and cool underfoot, reflecting the light in warm, honeyed tones. The white walls were pristine, untouched, offering a blank canvas that seemed to amplify every sound, every movement. They stood tall and stark, creating an expansive, almost reverent space where the smallest details felt significant.

The tall glass windows stretched from floor to ceiling, inviting the outside world in. Right now, they framed the same pretty sunset. Golden light filtered through the glass in ethereal streams like honey flowing off a jar. It felt serene. It felt otherworldly. Like the studio had been touched by something divine.

In the corner, the piano sat-they had crafted it to perfection, from the finest wood to the deep ebony shade on the surface, contrasting beautifully against the brightness of the room. I had requested it specifically, knowing you would appreciate its elegance. I knew I'd chosen the right spot for it when you sat there, and the sun bathed you in its golden glow, turning you into something almost mythical, a figure from a dream.

I stretched on the ballet barre, my movements slow and deliberate, my eyes on you. You were in your element, pulling out your music sheets with that calm focus I had come to admire. Your fingers danced across the keys as you played a few random tunes, testing the sound, the feel. The melodies echoed softly through the studio, filling the space with a sense of anticipation.

Finally, I moved to the centre of the room, standing tall as our eyes met. There was a brief moment of stillness, where everything else seemed to fade away, leaving just the two of us in that golden light.

"Ready?" your voice was steady.

I nodded, a small smile playing on my lips. "Ready."

In the monochrome world of the studio, where shadows and light danced along the polished floor, I was blue. A quiet, muted blue that seeped into every corner of the room, mingling with the soft hum of the piano.

The keys beneath your fingers sang a melody that wrapped around my soul, coaxing my body into motion. Each note you played was a whisper, a secret meant for me alone. And I let it seep into my bones.

The way you played was different now. Subtle, but I felt it. The way your fingers lingered on certain keys, drawing out the notes like a caress, or the way the tempo slowed as if you wanted to stretch this moment between us, to make it last just a little longer. And every time I responded, my movements echoed the emotions you infused into the music.

Whenever I danced these days, it was no longer just a performance. It was an offering. A love letter, I'd call it, written in the language of movement and breath, of glances and fleeting touches.

My body spoke the words I couldn't say aloud, words that felt too fragile to voice in the silence of the studio. So I let them spill out in the curve of my arm, in the arch of my back, in the way I turned and spun, always returning to you.

You never looked at me directly. Your gaze was always on the piano, on the keys, as if you were afraid that meeting my eyes would break something. Was it my heart that you were afraid of breaking? I would have been glad if you did. It couldn't have been worse than the silence.

You never looked at me directly. But I felt your attention, the way your eyes lingered on me, the way your music shifted to follow my lead, to match my rhythm. And I wondered if your fingers longed to touch more than just the keys, if they yearned to trace the contours of my skin the way they glided across the piano. In those moments, we were perfectly in sync, as if we were the only two people in the world.

I didn't know what that shadow was in the corner. It was a muted grey, the same colour as the edges of our moments. A reminder that this was fleeting, that it existed only in this space, in this time. Outside, in the harsh light of day, the lines between us were too stark, too defined. There, we could pretend that your world was black and white, and I was the blue that filled the space between.