Storymania - Dream Park De Mattete by Rachel

Dream Park De Mattete
Rachel

"Did you hear? They're saying someone's coming from the New York opera ballet to see our next public performance!"
"They're talking about study abroad, right? New York is my dream!"
A girl with long, flowing hair stands on the floor among the other ballet dancers.
"Linda!" says the instructor. "Why, no matter how many times I tell you, don't you have your arms and legs together? You're the only one whose timing is off, and you stand out."
The girl looks down.
"Fine, then," says the instructor. "You don't have to do this anymore!"

Dream Park de Mattete

"Wait at Dream Park"
cherokee rose with 5 white petals,so white,so pure.....
"every tears that shed, there shall it grow a cherokee rose"

The birds chirp in the morning sky.
A boy with short blond hair runs through the park.
He sees a pair of ballet shoes fly into the air.
Linda stands before him, her arm and leg raised up high.
As he looks at her, he sees tears in her eyes.
Linda sees him and screams.
She bolts forward and runs into a tree.
She looks back at him.
"Why are you dancing while you're crying?" says the boy.
"I- It has nothing to do with you!" says Linda. "Get out of here!"
The boy glares at her. "This isn't just your park!" he thinks.
He turns and sees the ballet shoes floating in the lake.
Linda turns and walks away.
The boy tightens his fist.
Linda looks back and sees the boy in the lake, swimming out toward the shoes.
"What the-!?"
He steps out of the lake, and holds the shoes out.
"Don't you need these?" he says. "If you don't, I'll throw them away. In a trash can."
Linda gasps.
The boy sneezes.
"Uh... I- I'm freezing..." he says.
"I can't believe this," says Linda. "You dived in even when it's this cold. How could you do such a stupid thing? Here!"
She puts a coat over his shoulders.
She hugs the shoes to her chest.
"So they're important to you after all," says the boy.
"They are," she says. "It's too bad, but these toeshoes are a memento of my mother."
"Then why did you throw them away?"
"Give me back my coat," she says. "I'm going to school."
The boy looks at his watch.
"Oh no! I'm in trouble for school. I'm late!"
He gets up to leave.
"W- Wait a second!" says Linda.
"If you get up early and come to dance again," he says, "I jog by here every morning."
He runs off carrying her coat.
"You thief!" says Linda. "What's with that guy! I didn't come here... to dance..."

She enters the Kikuchi Ballet
"Linda!" says one of the girls. "You've missed lessons twice now, the teacher is pissed."
"That's all right," says Linda. "She's given up on me anyway."
The other girls stand in the hallway.
"Wow, so the president of the New York opera is coming especially for this."
"But if we're cold, there's no way we'll be able to study abroad."
"That's right. At least for Linda, there's no chance at all of that kind of talk."
"What is she doing here, a person who was told she didn't have to come and left here crying."

Linda lies awake in bed.
"Isn't it stupid? If she knows the teacher's given up on her, she doesn't have to come here!"
She clutches her pillow and cries.

Linda runs through the park in the morning.
"I'm not going anymore!" she thinks. "I'm just going to quit ballet!"
She stops as she sees the boy running through the park.
"Oh..."
She wipes the tears from her eyes.
He approaches her.
"What," says the boy. "You came here to cry again?"
"What about you!" says Linda. "Running by yourself in the morning, it seems foolish!"
"It seems foolish!?" he says. "This is my refined training menu."
"Where's my coat!? Hurry and give it back!!"
"I took it to be cleaned," he says. "You should be grateful."
"What!?" says Linda. "Without even asking!? That's my school coat!"
He looks at her.
He grabs her arm.
"Come with me."
"Hey now, wait a minute...!"
"I'll show you," he says. "Miss 'it seems foolish'."
He takes her to an ice rink.
"Wow!" says Linda. "Skating!? It's already covered with ice!?"
"You fool," says the boy. "It's an artificially frozen rink."
He tosses her a pair of skates.
"Wow, this is amazing!" she thinks. "There's nobody here. It's reserved! It's been a long time since I've skated. Skating in that wide center... How wonderful."
The boy skates on the ice, and jumps into the air and spins.
"He's like a bird," thinks Linda.
The boy lands and continues skating.
"Did you see?" he says. "There's still nobody who can jump a triple like us."
Linda laces her boots and skates onto the rink.
"I wish I could jump as lightly as that," she thinks.
She leans forward, lifting one leg behind her.
"Oh, this feels great..."
The boy holds her by the stomach and lifts her in the air above him.
"What..." she thinks.
She blushes furiously as he sets her back down.
"You're so light," he says. "I knew it. You struck me the first time I saw you. Since you've done ballet, that spiral before was pretty as well."
He looks at her.
"Say... Would you figure skate with me? My dream is to pair skate someday. I've been searching for a partner for a long time."
"What..." thinks Linda. "That's why he..."
"Arabesque..." she says.
"Huh?"
She leans forward and lifts one leg behind her.
"This is called an arabesque."
The boy grimaces.
"Besides," says Linda. "It's too bad, but I'm still taller than you."
"I'll grow another 30 centimeters," he says.
"Is that so," says Linda. "In ballet, girls become 20 centimeters taller standing in toeshoes, so they can't be with a partner who's short."
The boy grimaces.
"In ballet," says Linda, "two people dancing is called pas de deux, not pairing. And a spin... is a pirouette..."
She lifts one leg and holds out her arms as she starts a spin.
She falls and crashes on the ice.
The boy laughs.
"You fool," he says.
Linda grabs his leg and pulls him down on the ice with her.
"I- I fell..." he thinks.
The two of them lie on the ice rink.
"Wow, this cool ice, it feels good," says Linda. "Ehehe."
They look at each other.
"Tell me your name," says the boy. "I'm Takeshi Honda".
"Linda Puah Cing Wern," she says.
"Hmm..." says Takeshi. "Linda. What's your dream? I said mine, so tell me yours."
"They're talking about study abroad? It's my dream!"
"If I could go to New York," she says, "that would be wonderful. The pas de trois Swan Lake, at the Metropolitan. And someday modern dance, too..."
"New York, eh?" says Takeshi. "If you mean the skating rink in a valley between buildings like this one, I know it. Rockefeller Center of 5th Avenue."
"We're having a public performance," says Linda. "A ballet called The Tale of Snow. It's a crystal dance like glittering glass, turning to sleet and troubling humans. Mine is the starring role of a fairy princess, who shows favor to the humans and makes the snow stop falling."
She looks down.
"It seems foolish. I'm... quitting ballet."
The bell on the clock tower rings.
"Oh no!" says Takeshi. "It's 11:30!?"
"What!?" says Linda.
"School..."
Takeshi walks up the stairs from the rink.
"Nah," he says. "Let's skip."
Linda looks up into the air.
"Oh, the sky..." she thinks. "How spacious it is. This isn't like the park normally is at all..."
They walk by a store.
Linda looks at a mannequin in the window, which is dressed as a ballet dancer and standing among glittering stones.
"A clear purple tutu," she thinks. "So pretty... It's like pieces of crystal are rolling around her."
"You ballet fool," says Takeshi.
"T- That's mean!" says Linda. "W- W- What do you know about my feelings...!"
"I've got some just like those," he says.
He holds out two stones in his hand.
"Wow, they're great..." thinks Linda.
"I'll give you one," says Takeshi. "Say, what if we skate it? That fairy princess. So? It's a good idea. It'll be great! Since you've done it, be sure to skate it! It's a promise!"
"H- Hey...!" she says.
Her heart pounds.
"All right," she says.
"Ehehe..." she thinks. "He gave it to me!"
They see some girls walking ahead.
"Well, I'm going to the lesson after I put away my bag," says one.
"See you later," says another.
Linda hides behind Takeshi.
"Everyone from the ballet..." she thinks.
The girls turn around.
"Oh, it's Linda!"
"You skipped! And wow! Brazenly going on a date with a boy from another school!"
They turn back.
"Come on, let's go. We have nothing to do with somebody who quit the ballet."
"I wish she'd hurry and clear her things out of her locker."
"It's so stupid. She always just does things that make her stick out."
They laugh.
Linda's eyes glisten with tears.
She runs away.
"Linda!?" calls Takeshi.
"Sorry!" she says. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
"I haven't quit yet," she thinks. "Now I'm going to quit!"

Linda takes the shoes from her locker at the Kikuchi Ballet.
"Oh, it's been so long..." she thinks. "The sensation of my toeshoes. How many days has it been since I've gone to a lesson."
A voice calls from the other room.
"One, two, three, sissonne! Sook Peng! Extend the tip of your foot!"
Linda looks out and sees a girl leaping through the air.
"That girl!?" she thinks. "What's she doing in my place!?"
"Linda!?" says the instructor.
Lindasteps back.
"I actually wanted to be bumped into by you one more time..." says the instructor. "No, many more times. But I can't let a hole open on the stage because of you. I decided to give your part to somebody else. If you hate ballet so much you keep shirking it, quit already."
She takes the shoes from Linda's hands.
"You don't need these," she says. "Let's dispose of them."
The other girls in the class snicker.
Linda turns and runs from the building.
"Fine!" she thinks. "I was going to quit anyway! But then why was it such a shock!? Somebody tell me... It feels like my heart is being crushed."
She approaches the ice rink.
"Hey, watch it!" calls a woman with short black hair. "You can't just enter the rink as you please!"
"I'm just tired of it!" thinks Linda.
She stops on the steps to the rink.
"No, no, Takeshi!" says a man. "If you keep going like that, you'll fall down again!"
Takeshi crashes on the ice.
"One more time!" he says.
"Takeshi!" says the man. "Your trend of starting off isn't completed yet! How many times do I have to say it!"
"All right," says Takeshi.
He gets up and starts to skate again.
Takeshi watches him.
"This is my training menu," he said.
"My dream is to pair skate."
Her heart pounds.
"Come on, come on, everyone," says the instructor. "Since you'll be standing on the stage, starting today we'll practice in toeshoes."
Linda holds the shoes to her cheek.
"Wow... My own toeshoes. I can finally, finally wear them."

Takeshi spins on the ice.
Linda puts on the shoes. She lifts up one leg and holds her arms out.
"Look! Even letting go of the bar, I'm all right."
"Linda the coward," she thinks.
"You ballet fool," said Takeshi..
Tears form in her eyes.
"I've finally, finally realized it... I want to dance."
She lifts her arms and raises a leg, spinning.
"I want to be strong. I love ballet."
She bows down.
"I'm sorry to barge onto the rink," she says to the woman. "Thank you!"
Linda leaves the rink.
"Even if you skip school," she thinks, "you don't miss skating practice. You really are... a skating fool."
Takeshi stops at the edge of the rink, breathing heavily.
"Hey, hey..." he says.
The man looks over at him.
"I wonder if I won't be able to pair skate," says Takeshi.
"Where do you have time for something like that!" says the man.
"Well, I did find a girl who fits perfectly with me. A girl who's done ballet is a sure thing. I could even lift her well!"
"Ballet, eh?" says the man. "Isn't she doing it now?"
"She quit..."

Takeshi runs through the city in the morning.
"What if I took you to the rink once? If I'm the same age as you, it's not too late even if we start figure skating now."
He holds one of the stones in his hand.
"Hehe..."
He looks around the park.
He runs into the city, looking around there.
He goes to the skating rink.
"What," says the man, "you don't even know where this girl's house is? It might not work then..."
Takeshi leaves, and walks along the street.
On a wall, he sees posters advertising a performance of The Tale of Snow by the Mewah ballet.
Among the listed performers is Linda Puah Ching Wern.

Linda peers out from behind the stage curtain, her heart pounding.
She holds the stone Tsuzuki gave her in her hand.
"Please, so that I'll be able to dance well..."

Linda stands on stage in line with the other dancers.
"Oh, I lifted my arm too much again," she thinks.
"Oh, not again..." says the instructor, watching from the side.
"Linda?" says a woman standing beside her.
"That girl's carefree arms and legs, and her subtle power of expression," says the instructor. "From the beginning I've had to unite them with the level of all the others. She's not suited for coldness."
"Please!" says Linda. "Give me just one more chance..."
Takeshi watches in the audience.
Linda dances on the stage.
"I am... the fairy princess..." she thinks.
The audience cheers and applauds as the performance ends.
An American man sits quietly among them.

The dancers gather backstage.
"Good job!"
"Our final show is at Royal Hall of Hilton Hotel!"
Takeshi enters, carrying a bouquet of tea roses.
Linda looks at him.
He holds it out to her.
"Amazing," he says. "You gave up being a crybaby and... were able to continue ballet."
Linda's heart pounds.
"Ehe..." she says. "Oh no, I didn't want to be seen... Have I been exposed? From the beginning, for the crowd behind me as well... That's also the greatest role. Me being the starring princess, the toeshoes being a souvenir of my mother, all those were lies. Saying I'd quit, too... It wasn't a lie, but... I guess it did turn into a lie."
"I..." says Takeshi. "More than the old fairy, I wanted to see the one you did, Linda."
Linda blushes.
She laughs.
The American man looks over at them.
"I'll make you the star," says Takeshi.

Takeshi takes her to the lake in the park, which is now frozen over.
"It's so pretty..." says Linda. "Covered with ice... It's a lake skating rink."
Takeshi pulls her onto the ice.
"You're much more pretty, Linda," he says. "I can make you the star on the rink anytime."
She steps back.
"It's no use," she says. "I'm not steady on the ice, I won't be able to dance well... Look."
She holds her arms up, lifting her leg, and dances.
Takeshi watches her.
"The starring princess..."
The American man peers out from the bushes, watching.
"If you're not quitting the ballet," says Takeshi, "does that mean you'll be coming here to cry again?"
"That's mean!" says Linda. "This time I won't give up so easily. I'll keep at it."
Takeshi looks at her.
"There might not be one," he thinks. "A ballet fool like you..."

Linda practices in ballet class.
The door opens.
"Linda!" says one of the girls.
Linda turns to look.
The American man stands behind the girl.

Takeshi looks at her.
"I can go!!" says Linda. "To New York!! Over people with careers who have stepped on the stage so many times, they chose me, since I have potential!! Can you believe it!?"
She puts her arms around him.
"It's like a dream!"
"She's going to... fly away..." thinks Takeshi.
"When?" he says.
"It's urgent..." says Shwu Tyng. "Tomorrow night..."
He looks away.
"From on top of the lake..." he thinks.

Linda stands in the terminal at Narita International Airport.
She turns and sees Takeshi walking toward her.
"I knew you were a liar," he says.
He holds out the stone in his hand.
"I made a promise," he says. "That the fairy princess would skate with me."
He puts his arms around her and holds her tightly.
"Are you crying...?" says Linda. "Hey... Boys are supposed to have poker faces..."
Takeshi kisses her on the cheek.
"I'm not crying," he says.
He holds out a coat.
"The coat I borrowed. Even if you're going all the way to New York... It will be cold, right?"
Tears fall from his eyes.
"The first time I saw you," says Takeshi, "I thought you looked like a bird."
"Me too..." says Linda. She smiles as tears run down her cheeks. "Me too."
The American man and another woman approach them.
"Miss Linda?" the woman says in English.
"Yes," says Linda.
She holds out the stone in her hand.
"My charm," she says.
Takeshi takes her hand.
"I'll find my own girl who carries wings," he says, "and my dream will come true for certain!"
She smiles as they part.
"It will come true."
He watches her go.
He turns to leave.
As he walks out of the terminal, a girl with two loops of light black hair tied up in bows walks by with her father.