❖ ❖ ❖
Sadie grabbed Esther’s hands and gently pulled her to the center of the room,
where a single-candle chandelier glowed brighter than the sun on a rainy day.
The two young girls swayed slowly back and forth, twisting around the room in a flourish of circles,
like a sliver of a sapling trying to fade into the blue. They held on to each other as they tiptoed
gracefully around the quiet dance floor. Neither needed music, while each others’ breathing brought
an intensely calming melody to the both of them. Their eyes fluttered shut and stayed this way; they
pretended it last one whole eternity. Esther’s pale eyes blinked open while Sadie’s eyes remained closed,
until her breath caught, causing Sadie to falter in her careful steps. Her eyes opened then. Esther leaned
slightly forward, her breath dolefully escaped into the air, like it was the last her lungs would ever do for her.
The remaining space between them shied away allowing their noses to touch. One of Esther’s slight hands
rested at Sadie’s waist, and the other was placed on her velvet cheek. Their soft and patient lips laced
together like a tenderly crafted flower crown.
❖ ❖ ❖