I was on stage waiting for the results, but I wasn't nervous at all. What I want to do the most is to help my mother be remembered by everyone. Other things don't really matter that much to me either.
The one who announced the results was Ms. Silia.
"Here, I would like to announce that the person who got the perfect score in the Finding Stars contest and officially became a member of the Angels team... That's Esther Joan."
This is not a difficult result to predict. Everyone was not surprised at all, they shouted my name and never stopped cheering. Silia put the medal around my neck, then gently hugged me and nodded.
I walked up to the podium alone, bowing to everyone in lieu of a ballerina's ritual chosen for the Angels.
For a moment, when I raised my head, I saw Dominic's eyes following me. But strangely enough, that look was not of joy or pride, but of extreme panic. I've never seen him so terrified, what exactly made him like that?
Before I could explain the doubt in my heart, I felt a heavy weight pressing down on my whole body. For a moment, the pain was so crazy that I almost fainted, I didn't even have time to call for help. Everything happened so fast that no one had time to react to what had just happened. By the time everyone regained their senses, they saw a giant chandelier pressing down on my body, with blood everywhere.
Loud screams were heard in succession, everyone was in turmoil and panic, constantly running away. The first to rush towards me was Dominic. You alone can lift that chandelier. I was almost in a coma, my lips moved but I couldn't make complete sentences.
"It hurts...it hurts..."
Dominic shoved the chandelier away, ignoring the shards of glass that kept grabbing his arms and legs. He knelt down and picked me up and quickly ran away.
"I'm here, don't be afraid. I'll save you."
Everyone is a little calmer now. They called an ambulance and called the police. The scene was so chaotic that everyone didn't understand why the chandelier suddenly fell down like that. But the most important thing right now is to get the injured person to the hospital.
...
I woke up the next day. There is no part of the body that is painless. White bandages wrapped around my body, if I could look in the mirror now, I would laugh because I look exactly like a mummy.
My memory is still not fully recovered, I only vaguely remember that I felt like I was seriously injured, then Dominic carried me away, I don't know what happened after that.
I tried to lift my hand, luckily although my hand was badly scratched but not too badly injured, my back and legs were almost immobile.
The doctor came in to check on me as soon as he found out that I was awake.
"Doctor, can you tell me what happened?"
Since the doctor looked at me confused, he was about to say something but then shook his head.
"I've talked to your husband about your problem. You should ask him."
Seeing the doctor's strange attitude, I felt puzzled. However, after checking the health indicators and seeing that I did not have any serious problems, he left very quickly. Therefore, I did not have time to ask anything more.
While waiting for Dominic, I got bored so I turned on the TV to watch. It happened to be that the news this morning was on about my own news.
"According to the news we have just updated, the police are still actively investigating the clues leading to the accident of Finding Stars winner Miss Esther Joan."
The monotonous voice of the announcer made me involuntarily focus on listening.
"According to the initial investigation, someone intentionally cut the chandelier. The camera is being held by the police for investigation. Currently, Esther Joan is still being treated in the hospital and her condition is unknown. As soon as we have news on this incident, we will immediately update."
Newsletters move on to other news. At this point, I just sat up. Even though my body ached, I didn't mind too much, because right now I was engrossed in thinking about yesterday's performance.
The fact that the chandelier string was severed showed that someone was intentionally harming me. This tactic was both cruel and drastic, clearly trying to take my life. If it weren't for me being taken to the hospital early, I probably wouldn't have survived.
Who hates me this much?
Actually, I had a name in mind, but I still tried to convince myself that it wasn't that person.
"Why are you sitting up like that? Your wound has just been operated on, please lie down." Dominic came in and frowned at me, then he carried me back to the bed.
Looking at Dominic overnight is much more worn out. His clothes had not changed, his short beard was rotten under his chin, his pupils were dull and tired.
"Have you...have you slept?" I raised my hand to touch his cheek, but I couldn't.
He leaned down so that the tips of my unwrapped fingers could touch his cheeks.
"It doesn't matter, what matters is your body."
"Oh right. I asked the doctor about my injuries just now, but he was so confused, he didn't answer me in the end. He told me to ask you."
Dominic took my hand that was touching his cheek, his eyes darting out the window for a few seconds before speaking.
"If you don't do ballet in the future, what would you like to do? Travel or try another job."
"No, I just like ballet. I plan that if I grow old later, I can open ballet classes for free and teach poor children." I was in the middle of speaking when I paused for a few seconds and looked at him puzzled. "But why are you suddenly asking me that?"
"..." Dominic was rarely so flustered, his mouth parted as if he wanted to say something but then became speechless.
For some reason, I could guess from his expression that he was hiding something from me. My eyes darkened, my smile faded. I turned to look out the window and happened to see a bird perched on a tree branch. It parked there not long before it flew away. Suddenly, I also wanted to be that bird, spreading my wings to where I wanted to go.
"It's fine if we don't do ballet. Then let's go on a trip. It's okay to do other jobs, I love baking, I want to learn knitting too. Ah and..."
Before I could finish my sentence, Dominic leaned over and hugged me. Only then did I realize the tears I had shed without me knowing. I tried to comfort myself that it would be okay, without ballet I would still be able to live, but the heartache kept rising in my heart and I couldn't hold back my tears.
As a ballerina, I'm not allowed to hurt my foot. But this accident made me forever unable to continue living with my passion for ballet.
I rested my head on Dominic's shoulder, sobbing like a baby.
My ballet dream ended last night. Everything... the aura... the cheers... the passionate feeling on the stage... now all of that is just a dream of mine.