Waltz of Her Life

One Friday night, against the advice of Matthew, she hired a limousine to take her fifty miles to the Shall We Dance studio that Roger still owned and managed. Over the years two of its employees had placed high at the Nationals competitions, and one young woman had gone on to become Leonardo DeCaprio's partner in Dancing with the Stars.

Linda arrived unannounced, and the kind driver gingerly helped her out of the back seat. She hoped to slip into the building unnoticed, without fanfare, but a crowd of people had seen the limo from the third floor windows. They all crowded around the elevator, to greet her. Roger, who was silver-haired now but still elegant, cried when he saw her. They danced an elegant waltz by themselves during a special, impromptu celebration at the party.

Practically the whole studio saw her off as she left the party early, not used to this excitement and returned to the limo for the ride home. She smiled the entire way. At home, she changed into her nightgown, took off what little makeup she'd worn on her wrinkled, but still glowing skin, and crawled into bed.

As she fell asleep, it occurred to her that it had been decades since she'd been lucid and had spoken with Lauren. Oh well, she said to herself, shrugging. I'll get to see her soon enough.

Later that night, as she slept, she floated away from the house and ascended into a long, bright tunnel. She felt like Alice in Alice in Wonderland headed to a sanctuary of pure love rather than a disconcerting, dark hole. The light at the end of the tunnel glowed even more brightly as she ascended toward it, feeling showers of warmth and happiness from all the energy that surrounded her.

Eventually she became one with the light at the end and descended, easing down, down, down the light diminishing around her as she felt as if she'd been lowered by a gentle, golden parachute toward a shimmering marble floor in an ornate palace. When she looked down at her legs and feet as she landed, she saw them slender and smooth, free from the spider veins and ravages. As the details of the pillars and the archways revealed themselves to her, she could see them with astonishing clarity. She wore glamorous silver, sparkling dance sandals on her feet.

Layers of diaphanous chiffon gracefully billowed away from her arms and chest.

"Welcome back love," a man said. He had a warm, baritone voice said. When she turned, she saw his bright smile and smooth skin as his glowing, loving energy radiated toward her. Holding her, indicating the floor, he said "Shall we?"