Speak Now | Shawn Mendes

0.9

- One Month Later -

A sigh escapes my lips as I tried for the umpteenth time to try and get rid of the stubborn puke stain that refused to leave. All the other stains left and vanished after some serious and careful cleaning, but this one spot wouldn't leave. The show was set to start within the next thirty minutes, and I was trying my hardest to not cry. There's a knock at my door and it opens. I look up to see Sasha standing with a box in his hands.

"Thirty minutes till curtain, Tina." Sasha says to me. "Are you okay?" He steps into the room and I throw the pointe shoe across from me.

"No, and I don't want to take anything out on you." I say. "This damn stain won't go and I'm freaking out because I know that Olivier will be watching but I just need a sign from him, or the universe, that I'll be okay and I'll do just fine!"

"Christina, you'll do beautifully up there. You always have been and you always will me." Sasha tells me. I look up at meet his piercing gray eyes. He smiles and a dimple pops out and it makes my heart flutter. Sasha looks down at the package and hands it to me. "This was delivered by someone. They asked me to give them to you."

"Who are they from?" I ask.

"I'm not sure. Some guy in glasses handed them to me." He shrugs. Sasha leans forward and places his hand under my chin and lifts my head up. "Christina Svetlana Ivanov, you will do brilliantly up there tonight." I close my eyes as he places a comforting kiss on my forehead, then open them up just to see him leave.

I look at the box in my hands. It's wrapped in brown paper with twine wrapped into a loose bow. I pull the string and the twine comes undone, then I rip open the paper. Right in front of me was a white box with black cursive that read Freed of London. A gasp escapes my lips and I know what's inside, but don't want to believe it. I gently remove the lid and see a note.

These are already broken into and sewn to your measurements. Sorry it took a month, I wanted to do it myself.

P.S. Sorry for throwing up on them.

Underneath the note were four pointe shoes in my size and shape: nude, black, white, and pink. He sent me them. He didn't have to do that! My night instantly became better and I got up from the floor and removed my robe, then got into costume. I put my hair up in a sleek bun, did my makeup, and got my shoes on.

They fit perfectly! The measurements were right and they were broken in at the right places. Nothing was too tight or too loose. It was perfect.

"Christina, it's time." The door opens and reveals Sasha in his costume. "Well, someone looks happier."

"I also feel happier. Ready to go do this ballet some justice?" I reply.

"Ready when you are."

- x -

The music picks up and it's loud. My adrenaline is through the roof and I have to keep reminding myself that I have four minutes left and then I can cry. I listen to the violins and the horns but my heartbeat makes louder noise. I get lost in the music and it carries me away and I no longer feel like I'm on a stage but on a cloud.

It's the finale. Everyone on stage is on their toes, no pun intended. Sasha's hands touched me and with each touch I felt more alive. Marcel, who played the role of the Rothbart, the evil sorcerer, brought so much adrenaline with each touch. The audience was wonderful and completely captivated and mesmerized with each move.

I run up to the platform that was designed as a cliff at the end of a creek and flail my arms majestically like a swan as I prepare for the tragic ending. I look out to Sasha, then to Marcel, and finally to the audience. The light is blinding enough to the point where I can't see the faces in the audience. With a close of my eyes, I jump and feel my body land on the mattress hidden behind the set.