Fiction: The flight of the swan

The girl was saying goodbye to her friend after leaving dinner. The starry night accompanied the young woman who happily wore a smile, adorning her beautiful face, sensual cinnamon color and eyes as bright as the full moon.

She made a stop on the road waiting for the traffic light to change, there was not much traffic on that Saturday of relaxation and party atmosphere. She waited for the light to change to green and started walking on the dark and cold asphalt.

After reaching the middle of the street a speeding car was approaching towards the woman's humanity, without much time to react she could only jump aside and the car was rushing over her body, then all was darkness.

"Camille, Camille, it's time to go on stage, go and give your all to seduce the audience, fly my dear swan, fly," her dear mother was telling her.

Camille danced so beautifully that she seemed to draw figures in the air, the peach-colored, half-toed slippers gliding at the will of the beautiful dancer. She leapt across the stage, her white chiffon skirt flying to the movement, enchanting the eyes of the audience.

Her angelic face, accompanied by a pearly smile, illuminated the theater that watched as Camille, France's most successful dancer, flew to success. After a couple more pirouettes she finished her performance, and the resounding applause invaded the place feeding the dancer's feeling of happiness.

"Camille, Camille, you did great, you are wonderful, everyone loves you. Camille, Camille... Wake up... Camille, come back, come back..."

She opened her eyes trying to focus on a shadow that called her in the distance, little by little the opaque light of the scene became clearer. A figure appeared before her eyes.

"My life, my beautiful swan, I'm so glad to see you back," her mother was saying to her with tears welling up prominently, accompanied with a big smile.

Such a warm and loving embrace Camille felt from her prostrate situation. "What is it, Mother, why am I here?" asked the astonished girl who still wanted to understand what was happening.

"My beautiful swan, you had an accident and now you are in intensive care, you will soon recover, don't worry." Her mother spoke to her while she covered Camille with the blanket and then kissed her forehead.

The dancer closed her eyes to surrender to Morpheus and in the persistent darkness a light broke the dark curtain. Camille saw herself in front of a large stage, she began to dance and her curvaceous body marked the white leopard. She danced under those bright lights and her steps were poetry in the atmosphere, the voices acclaiming her name asked for more and more.

"Camille, Camille, wake up love, it's morning." Subtly her mother rested her hand on the dancer's head, stroking it back and forth.

"Hello mother, it's good to see you," Camille was telling her, as a smile appeared from between her lips.

"Don't try too hard to talk, you are still delicate, my beautiful swan." The mother's words denoted loving authority.

At that instant the doctor entered holding tightly a notebook and his eyes showed great concern at an unavoidable piece of news. "Good morning, Mrs. Durand and Camille, I have the results of the tests, there is no good news. Your daughter suffered a fracture at the level of the T11 and T12 vertebrae, this triggered a bilateral traumatic dislocation of articular facets at the level of the thoracic spine."

The Doctor is abruptly interrupted by Camille's screams. "Mommy, Mommy, I can't feel my legs, help me, please!" The desperate dancer was tossing back and forth on the bed, choking back tears of pain and helplessness. The medical staff rushed to attend to Camille's crisis, after controlling her they gave her sedatives and the dancer sank into a deep sleep.

The lights dazzled Camille's face as she watched the audience expectant to see her famous swan flight, she heard the voices acclaiming her name, she took a great impulse...

"Camille, Camille, open your eyes, my beautiful swan, I've brought you your breakfast," her mother called to her from an unconscious distance.

Camille became aware of her reality and saw herself in that whitish room, smelling of death and sickness, she remembered her condition and fury filled her head. "Get out, I don't want to see anyone, I want to die, I want to die..." She threw the dishes on the floor and taking a syringe from the bedside table stuck it in her arm.

Mrs. Durand desperately grabbed the syringe and pulled it out of Camille's arm. The nurses arrived to calm the upset dancer, another dose of sedatives was injected into the young woman's body.

After several days of rages and depressions, Camille's mother was making her come to her senses and accept the new reality they were living, a little calmer the beautiful dancer was speaking to her mother, "Sorry for everything, mom, it just seems that I have lost everything and life doesn't seem to make sense." A tear ran mischievously down the beautiful woman's cheek.

"Don't worry, my beautiful swan, I'll be with you no matter what, I love you too much." The mother gave Camille a kiss on the forehead and a smile of serenity showed her lips.

At that moment the doctor entered. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Durand and Camille, I come to tell you that we can make Camille able to walk again, it is a risky operation, but with an acceptable success rate, if you agree we can perform it." The good-natured face, and the clear eyes of the doctor gave hope to the two women.

"I have nothing to lose, I am willing and I trust you, doctor." Camille held her dear mother's hand tightly.

The day of the operation came and Camille found herself in front of the incandescent lights of the surgery room, she saw her mother at the window shedding some tears, Camille raised her hand and said goodbye. The mask was put in place and then all was darkness....

"I have to make it my swan flight," Camille thought as she stood on the stage, listening to the audience cheering for her.

She pirouetted, spun around preparing for the grand finale her swan flight, on her toes she walked quickly, moving her arms like waves of the sea and spinning on one of her feet, it was time to finish, she hesitated for a moment, but she rose to her full height and a beautiful leap graced the stage. Camille felt like she was flying into the sky, with her arms and legs stretched out, she seemed to fly like a swan.

"Wake up, Camille, don't leave me, my beautiful swan." The mother lay on her knees before the bed.

Camille would open her eyes and say, "Hello, Mom." Tears and a smile accompanied the dancer's greeting.

Mother and daughter melted into an embrace and then Camille moved one of her feet awkwardly. The happiness was complete.

"Keep flying, my beautiful swan!"

The end