Dreamscape Dancer

It was the light that woke her.

Little Natalie, a girl who couldn't quite see above her kitchen counter, opened her big brown eyes and sat up in her little princess bed. She stretched and stared curiously at the warm glow shining in from her window. Surely it couldn't be morning already?

She hesitantly stepped onto her soft carpet and tiptoed cautiously to the window. No matter how tall she could stand on her toes, she couldn't see. She grabbed her favourite stuffed animal, a big dog named Max, and propped him up against her wall. She carefully climbed on top of his head and finally she could see.

This was not the sight she expected to see. She expected a night sky overflowing with glimmering stars, an old red maple in the front yard and the spring tulips in the garden, but this was very different.

Natalie didn't know whether to call for her mom and dad or take a closer look.

What first caught her attention was the sparkling, polished, white marble floor. It was so clean that if you looked down at it, you would see yourself looking back up. The room was massive, with golden walls and shiny velvet drapes hung all around. There were no windows or doors. The room was completely empty except a small table standing in the middle of the room. Natalie couldn't make out what was on it, and she was dying to know.

Natalie was faced with a tough decision: would she go into this mysterious room or go get her parents?

Temptation got the best of her. She found herself shoving open the window and swinging her legs out. Before she took the short jump onto the floor, she stopped and looked back through the window to her bedroom. What if this was dangerous?

She couldn't help herself. She let her hands slide off the ledge and landed with a soft thud on the smooth floor below.

She looked around. There was nobody in the entire room, and every slap of her bare feet against the floor seemed to echo in the silence. Natalie did not find the room spooky. She felt like a princess.

That's when she had the idea that this was a princess's ballroom. Once she had the thought in her mind, she couldn't get rid of it. She regally strode towards the table, pretending that she was no longer wearing her pyjamas, but a flowing ball gown.  Once she reached the table, she stared at the two identical objects lying there.

They were ballet shoes, a light pink colour, lined with gold lace and adorned with jewels and silver bows. They were the most beautiful shoes she had ever seen, and she couldn't help but try them on.

They fit her perfectly. They didn't fall off nor did they squeeze her feet. They fit just as they should have. She was so excited. This was a very pleasant coincidence, for Natalie had been taking ballet lessons for a whole year and all she wanted to do now was twirl and twirl and dance forever.

So she did just that. Natalie twirled around the ballroom with a big smile on her face. Her eyes lit up as she danced around the room. Her long brown hair swayed gracefully as she danced. She seemed to have danced for an eternity when she finally got tired.

She decided she needed to return to her cozy bedroom and sleep the rest of the night. Natalie yawned and took off her beautiful shoes, carrying them in her small hand as she took one last glance around the room and headed for her window.

She jumped up, tossed the shoes onto her bed, and pulled herself up through the window. The shiny floor, the drapes, and the golden walls seemed to beckon her back to dance again. She didn't want to leave, but she knew that she must.

She gazed back at the fantastic scene she just left. She didn't know if she would ever get a chance to return.

A sudden creak from the hallway interrupted her thoughts. Her mom or dad was coming in to check on her. She only had a few moments to think.

She jumped into bed as quietly as she could, shoving the shoes under her blanket and closing her eyes.

She heard the footsteps enter her room, walk up to her bedside, wait for a moment, and then exit back into the hall.

Natalie waited for a minute and then opened her eyes. The warm glow was no longer shining through her window. The only thing that remained from the recent magical memory was the pair of ballet shoes. They were still there, under her fluffy comforter.

Only now did she realize how exhausted she was. She needed to sleep. She could barely keep her eyes open.

She let herself drift off, and soon it was morning.

There was a different light that woke her that morning: a cold, pale light that seeped through her blinds and stretched across her bed. As soon as she opened her eyes, Natalie got up and stood on Max, still propped up against the wall from the night before.

There was the maple tree and the tulips. The pale, flavourless morning sky was illuminated by a small white sun low in the atmosphere. Everything was back to normal. Natalie had a hard time deciding if it was all a dream, and she knew that there was only one piece of proof: the ballet shoes.

She hoped with all her heart that the beautiful shoes would be there, crossing her fingers and pulled back the covers.

The sparkling gold trimmings glowed in the reflection in Natalie's eyes. The shoes looked more beautiful then they ever did before. A huge smile grew on her face, and, in that moment, she knew that the light that had woken her the night before was now within her.