This is from chapter three in my novel, Like Crimson Rain. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when I wrote it.
As he went back through the center hall he decided to take one last minute and watch people dance and try to get his head back in order. The orchestra, to call them a band was an injustice, had just finished a song and couples were walking off the floor as it appeared there may be a short lull until the next number.
“Thomas?” a woman’s voice called from behind him, standing there was a tall blonde, Dr. Hilary Gasmyer. She worked at Children’s Hospital and had once told David that she had a very bad crush on Thomas. She was a fine looking woman, about thirty-two and could have been quite a catch except Thomas couldn’t get past “the laugh”. He had described it once as a snorting elephant seal meets a Muppet.
“Hello Hilary! How are you?”
“Surviving, you?”
“The same.”
Looking around Thomas’ general vicinity, Hilary’s eyes brightened. “Thomas, could I get you to dance with –“
“Oh there you are Dahling!” From behind Thomas came a voice with a light Eastern European accent. Hilary looked at him and appeared a bit dismayed. Thomas just shrugged and turned around and felt his jaw drop.
Anna stood before him in a dress that could have come straight from “Gone with the Wind”. It was a deep green that Thomas immediately realized match his cumber bun. In her hair was a lace and green ribbon that held her hair off her neck. She was simply stunning.
“Anna, I wasn’t sure where you had gone. Hilary, this is Anna.” Anna closed her eyes briefly and nodded to Hilary. Hilary just stared, mouth open.
“It’s nice to meet you too Hilary. Thomas, I do believe the conductor said the next dance is the waltz we requested.” Anna turned toward the dance floor and held her arm out. Thomas took her arm and walked out to the center of the floor.
Okay, what the hell am I doing? Thomas thought. I can’t dance and now I am in the center of the hall where everyone one can see me.
He felt sweat start to trickle down his back and his heart felt like it would burst. He began to feel the room spin when Anna stepped in front of him and took his right hand in hers and pulled him close. Suddenly, the room righted itself and Thomas felt at peace as his heart and breathing slowed. In the distance he heard the conductor tap on his stand.
“Steady Sir Knight.” Anna had a gleam in her eyes.
“This knight can not dance M’Lady.”
“Yes you can, just let me guide you. It won’t look like I am leading good Sir. I will just be a blushing maiden.”
Thomas didn’t get the chance to protest. With that strength that belied her size, Anna guided Thomas into the waltz as the symphony began to play. Around and around they went. Thomas found the dance to be second nature to him even though he had never danced like this before. He felt himself unable to leave Anna’s gaze. Thomas could feel Anna’s heartbeat in her hand and then gasped. His own pulse matched Anna’s exactly. Cadets at Annapolis could never hope to be as in synch in their marching as Thomas and Anna’s hearts were as they danced.
Anna could sense he felt it and smiled. Her eyes never left his.
Thomas blinked and felt the room lurch around him. To his astonishment, the walls of the hall fell away, the fellow dancers shimmered and disintegrated around him. He found Anna and himself dancing outside on a spring day by a huge manor, it may have come from the set of “Three Musketeers” with Errol Flynn.
They danced on a marble patio which was lined by a low marble fence. Apple trees in the nearby orchard were backlit by the sun, their springtime blooms were shedding petals like snow. At the far end was an old weeping willow tree, its new leaves a bright green. Sunlight shone through the branches like golden fingers. The tulips lining the area just beyond the fence, providing a brilliant red and yellow blur as they turned and turned. All of it seemed appropriate though when he returned his attention to Anna who still had the soft smile as she watched him.
Through all of it the sound of their hearts had risen to a low roar in his ears. It didn’t quite overpower the music, instead it became a tune of its own.
Just as quickly as the music had brought him to this place, he heard it come to its conclusion. As their dance ended, Thomas looked around and found them back in the hall. People around them had begun to applaud and Anna spun from his arms and while holding Thomas’ hand, curtsied. Thomas felt himself bow at the waist and as he rose he could see Hilary in the same spot with the same dumbstruck look on her face.
Anna walked off the floor with Thomas in tow. In the deafening silence that followed their dance she lead him to where she met him and pulled his face to hers and kissed him gently. Thomas closed his eyes and drank in the taste of her lips. All too quickly it ended and the sounds of the room flooded his ears. Thomas gasped in shock as his heart rate and breathing jumped back to their old pace. The pounding in his ears sounded like a man running through a frost covered lawn. As he looked around him, he found himself once again alone among a crowd.
Thomas walked towards the doors in the center of the hall. Above the din, he heard a familiar haunting laugh. He didn’t stop, in fact, he quickened his pace.
He didn’t look at anyone else nor did he recheck his auction bids. He needed to get some air, fast. As he approached the doors he slowed when he saw his own reflection and felt his heart skip. He slowly turned his head so he could see his left shoulder and confirm what he had seen in the reflection. There, just above his pocket was a single flower petal, an apple bloom.
All contents are copyright 2006 Johnny Peregrine and David Fields