|
The Daddy Dance
by Tracy Nunes Twirling, twirling, twirling. Hands in the air, an imaginary crown on her head, she twirled, sweeping her arms through the air. All around her she could picture her very own fairy tale: Castles with turrets and shining knights who protected her, gleaming drapes of silk flowing in the wind, her adoring and loyal subjects flocking to her with outpourings of love and her handsome Prince standing next to her in sincere admiration. She could soar, she knew she could. Gathering up momentum, she pushed off the tips of her toes and raised her arms in imaginary flight; sprinkling fairy dust around her as she took wing with her old coat hanger wand flitting across the sky. But, her toe caught on the edge of an unnoticed rock and... SLAM! Down to earth the fairy princess fell, and when she did the crunch of her body hitting the earth brought her beautiful dream dance to a sudden end. She rubbed her temples in confusion and felt the odd taste of copper on her tongue. Blood ran from her knees, one of her elbows and her left little toe throbbed in purplish torment. Her pretend fairy wand lay bent and broken. She cried soft sobs into the corner of her folded arm; despair keeping her from even trying to stand and test her weight on her strangely bent right leg. Looking around at what she had imagined to be her shining land, she saw instead layers of trash, discarded pieces of the lives of other people and not one shining knight. Her imagined Prince was really an old tree stump whose bare limbs and knots gave it a human form. Lowering her head again she now cried quiet tears of resignation. No one was coming for her. No one cared. She was alone. She drifted off to a troubled sleep but woke with a sudden start with the feel of a large, warm hand resting gently on her head. Looking up she could see the form of a very large man. A sweet heavenly, yet earthy and eternal, aroma wafted into her nose and brought her senses to complete awakening. He placed His hand, first on her little toe, then on her leg, her knees, her elbow and finally, gently on her lips, and one by one they each became new. Not broken, not bleeding, not hurting. With His thumb He wiped away her tears while large drops of silvery liquid dropped from His own eyes. He tenderly held her hand and drew her to stand and as He did her old, faded, stained clothes fell away, replaced by the most beautiful gown she had ever seen. From within His robe He drew out a crown of emeralds, diamonds and sapphires and placed it on her head and He placed a ring on her finger. Somewhere....everywhere.... music began to float through the air and it made her feel as light as a feather, as if it its very notes could make her lift off the ground. He ever so smoothly pulled her up onto the tops of His feet and she laughed when she saw how her tiny feet were dwarfed by His. He let her settle a minute and then He gave her a slight nod...a question. And, though she could not hear any words, she knew He was asking her. He was waiting for her response. His feet itched to move. She could feel the pulsing below her own feet, but He withheld it in gentlemanly respect. She slowly, ever so slowly, nodded her head as a smile began to turn the corner of her lips. Was she dreaming? She shook her head as if to brush away the cobwebs of confusion, only to see that He truly was real. A laugh began to echo from deep within Him. It started small and began to grow with each breath. It welled up from within His heart and flooded over her like a warm spring rain. She felt as if she had been bathed from the inside out with His joy. As the music began to swell, a strong longing to move rose up from the tips of her toes to the top of her head like electricity moving though a stormy sky. And, He began to dance. Slow at first, in sweat rhythm to the music and then picking up in sweeping graceful moves like no ballerina could ever make. He laughed, she giggled and they both cried. Sometimes, He would take giant leaps that scared her, but she was safely planted on the tops of His feet and He held tightly to her hands. Twirling, Twirling, Twirling. She felt like she was dancing on the clouds, bouncing from one to the other with graceful ease and then floating down to earth like a snowflake on a gentle breeze. When she awoke it took her a moment to adjust her eyes to her surroundings. To her surprise, it was all as it had always been before the fall...before the dance. Had it been a dream? No, there was her broken wand where it had fallen. But, her clothes were old again and most painfully, she was alone. She raised her hand to brush back the hair from her eyes and noticed the simple ring was still on her finger. The only thing left of thier dance. It shone like no other metal she'd ever seen. Where did you go?! she cried to the sky. A faint sound of music drifted over her and the aroma of heaven settled around her. Slowly, a sure smile crept back to the corners of her mouth. It was real. He was real. Her dance with her Daddy was real. And.... He had left the ring so that she would be sure of it, sure of Him and know that He would be back for her. And, when He came for her, the dance would never end. Tracy grew up in Hawaii but now resides in Tennessee with Richard, her husband of 32 years. They have two daughters and six grandchildren. Writing came after homeschooling her girls and a career in real estate management. She doesn't claim to have all the answers but she knows the One who does. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |