A short story
When we wrap our minds up in the word of God, our spirits will take us to the highest of heights. — Henery X
Born To Soar
2022, Henery X ©
Seventeen-year-old Aisha Gibson just loves to dance. In fact, it was her favorite thing to do in her spare time. Though she was well versed in all manners of the craft, classical ballet was her favorite style.
Winter, 2016
Eleven-year-old Aisha had just recently enrolled in Sally J’s School of Dance. She was excited and nervous all at the same time. She was pursuing her dream of being a famous ballerina.
Forty-five-year-old Sally Jefferson was a renowned ballet dancer who is a former member of the New York City Ballet. When she was thirty, she started her own ballet program, which mostly focused on helping urban youth to be their best.
“Alright, ladies. Let us begin,” Sally said sternly.
The diverse group of females who ranged in age from ten to seventeen, were all looking at their instructor intensely. They were all dressed the same, but they all possessed different degrees of enthusiasm. Sure, they were all excited to be where they were, but other places still occupied space in most of their minds. But this wasn’t the case with Aisha. There was no other place she was thinking about being outside of where she was. In her mind, this space represented her second home.
“As always, we’re going to start with the first position. Let’s go ladies.”
Everyone present was emulating what they saw Sally doing. One of her assistants came up and whispered something in her ear.
“Something has come up, ladies. I’m going to leave you in the capable hands of Marissa here. Now, show her the same level of respect you show me.”
“Yes, Ms. Jefferson,” everyone present said in unison.
Sally hurried off.
“Alright ladies. Let’s start with the first position again,” Marissa said.
When Sally returned to her place of business, everyone had left except for Marissa and Aisha, who was sitting in one of the chairs in the studio section.
“Some of the other young ladies were giving her a hard time,” Marissa said. She and Sally were staring lovingly at Aisha. “Her mother called and said she’d be a little late picking her up.”
“Alright. I got her. Thank you for all you do.”
“It’s my pleasure, Sally.” The two women hugged, and Marissa started walking towards the exit.
“Hey, little bird,” Sally said as she walked towards Aisha.” She affectionately referred to Aisha in the manner she did because, when she danced, she reminded her of a baby bird attempting to take flight.
Aisha looked up at Sally with tears in her eyes. “Hey, Ms. Jackson,” she said somberly.
Sally sat in a chair next to the one Aisha sat in. “Little bird. I’m going to share a brief story with you. Afterwards, I pray you’ll never feel as you do again.”
Aisha stared up into Sally’s lovely, smiling face and displayed a smile of her own.
“When I was your age, I faced the same situation. The other young ladies would pick on me because I was small and a bit out of step. I felt like giving up on something I wanted so bad. But then my instructor, Mrs. Martin, asked me one question. She said, 'Do you really want this, little bird?' And I said, 'Yes, I really want this.' Then she said, 'Well, started acting like it.' From that point forward, the laughter became fuel for my fire. So, I now ask you, little bird. Do you really want this?”
“Yes,” Aisha said cheerfully.
“I can’t hear you.”
“Yes!”
“Alright then. Let’s go get it for you.” Sally and Aisha got up out of their chairs and hurried to the center of the space. “You’re going to soar higher than all the others. Do you believe me?”
“I do, Ms. Jackson! I do believe you!” Aisha began spinning around laughing.
Summer, 2022
Thanks to Sally having worked with Aisha in her spare time and Aisha’s desire to be the best she could, she exceeded both their greatest expectations. Not only had she become the best ballerina in her class, she was now instructing the class as well.
Class was over, and Aisha and Sally were standing in the center of the space.
“I’m so proud of you, Aisha,” Sally said cheerfully.
“Thank you for your help, Ms. Jackson. I’ll never forget you.”
“I sure hope not, young lady,” Sally said cheerfully. “I want you to become a full-time assistant. You know, earn a paycheck.”
“Are you serious, Ms. Jackson!”
“I am. We’re about to take on some new clients, so we created an extra shift. Me and the other ladies talked it over and we feel as though you, and another young woman we hired, are more than capable of handling the said shift.”
Aisha hugged Sally. “Thank you, Ms. Jackson.”
“You are welcome. And enough of the Ms. Jackson stuff, you can call me Sally.”
“Alright, Sally.”
The end
What are you willing to sacrifice to live your dreams? If it’s not everything that has nothing to do with the journey, then your dreams will more than likely remain just that… dreams.
This is the tenth of ten short stories I’m writing and that will make up a book meant to inspire the inner child in us all. The main characters will all be under the age of eighteen, showing that there’s no age requirement when it comes to living dreams. I want the stories of these youngsters to encourage the elders who happen to read them because again, there’s no age requirement when it comes to living dreams.
Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge my offering.
Remember. I’m not here to convince you to believe. I’m here to offer you something else to consider.
May we never lose our desire to outdo what we’ve already done.
Peace, Love, and the utmost Respect.