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In some way, it felt fitting that I would lose my ability to dance after this last performance which would be my best. After the rigorous training I’d had, I knew I’d never dance better than I did that night. I became the swan princess, I was Odette and I danced like tomorrow would never come, pouring my soul into the princess’s moves.
As I danced, my mind was transported into a moment a long time ago, when I held Mummy’s hand as she led me into the opera, pressing a finger to her lips to quieten me down as I jumped up and down with excitement. And just like that, I was reliving the evening that would shape my life forever.
“Mummy!” I said with exasperation. “We won’t be able to see anything from here!”
My mother flushed in embarrassment as she led us to the entrance that led away from the main seats, up towards a further away area.
“Shh, darling,” she said gently. “Don’t make a ruckus. The other seats are too expensive. But you’ll see just fine from the ones I got us.”
An older woman passed us and I gave her a beaming smile which she returned. She seemed to hesitate, but just as Mummy and I were about to walk past her, she reached for Mummy’s hand.
“Excuse me,” she said, her voice posh and very upper-class. “I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation.”
Mummy sighed and laughed nervously, saying, “I’m sorry. My little girl is just a little excited today. This is her first ballet.”
“Understandably excited,” the woman winked for her, extending a gloved hand to my mother. “I’m Felicia Van Berg.”
Staring up at them, I couldn’t miss the stark difference between the two women. My Mummy, in a coat that was older than I was and with a pretty face that was already lined from hard work. And the other woman, in her expensive clothes and gorgeous jewelry that shone and sparkled under the lights.
My Mummy introduced herself, and the woman leaned down next to me, giving me a conspiratorial wink.
“I have something for you,” she said mysteriously, reaching into her expensive handbag and pulling out a strange object. “Do you know what these are, little girl?”
I shook my head no as she placed the object in the palm of my hand.
“They’re opera glasses,” she went on. “You use them to see the stage better. See, an old lady like me can’t see so well, even right up from the front.”
I laughed just like she did, feeling around for Mummy’s hand and holding onto her tightly, my eyes wondrously examining the older woman’s face.
“I think you’ll make better use of them tonight,” the woman went on, winking again. “And I tell you what. Meet me here after the performance. I’ll have a special treat for you.”
With that, she left in a cloud of expensive perfume and her heels clicking on the marble floor. Open-mouthed, I turned towards my mother who looked stricken as she grabbed my hand more tightly and led me to our seats.
Excitement bubbled in the pit of my stomach as we settled in and I tried on the opera glasses. The lady who’d given them to me was right – I could see much better with those funny things pressed to my eyes.
I couldn’t settle down, the excitement almost too much to bear. Mummy had told me so much about the performance we were about to see, I could almost imagine how incredible it would be. But nothing could have prepared me for what happened on stage moments later.
The dancers looked incredible, the costumes amazing, glittering and rich in fabrics I wanted to feel between my fingertips.
I watched them dance, completely mesmerized. I only glanced at Mummy once during the performance, my eyes wide with wonder and hers holding a smile, saying ‘I told you so’. She was a big fan of ballet, and I was worried she’d oversold the performance, but seeing it in person, it was everything I’d hoped it would be and so much more.
The performance took two hours, and by the end of the ballet, I think I was clapping the loudest in the whole theater. I wouldn’t shut up about it and Mummy laughed as she led me out of our row of seats.
“Did you see how the boy twirled her around, Mummy?” I asked excitedly. “She must be light as a feather!”
“She certainly must be,” Mummy laughed. “Come on now, darling, we don’t want to miss our train.”
I followed her outside when I remembered what the beautiful woman had told me.
“Mummy!” I exclaimed. “We’re supposed to meet that lady… She told us to wait there before we left.”
I saw the hesitation in my mother’s face, and I hated that she had to be suspicious of the kindness of other people. But this was the world we lived in, even all the way back then…
