© 1995 Linda Moore

Then she caught his eye: the dancer who'd been there from the start, the man with the gleam of pleasure in his eye, with the subtle and inviting smile. He was hunting for red wine, and she found him a bottle in which some remained. "Share it with me," he said, quietly challenging her to start the ritual. He was bold, and gave her the key to her own boldness. They emptied the bottle, sealing an unvoiced pact, and went onto the dance floor.

Now she became herself, releasing the part which had held back, wanting, for so long. She wrapped the music round herself like a piece of silk and danced with the elements that made her. The black dress she wore was long, flowing, its skirt full, its bodice revealing her shoulders, but around her the colours of her aura shone like a rainbow, pulsing, changing, expanding then contracting, expressing her joy. She took the music within and let herself become as one with it, swaying, turning, burning.

She felt the shivering brush of her hair over her bare skin and she caught and held her partner's eye, laughed at the brightness of his aura's colours. They shared an alchemy, just for the one night. For the one night, they were part of the same thread of life: they could see it happening as their auras merged and caressed. They knew it, just as they knew that it would not continue, and accepted it without regret.

She felt her body respond, felt it rejoice, felt every last whisper of touch on her skin and body. It was as if she were alive for the first time as he led her in the dance, showing her the way, allowing her to trust him and be trusted.

Outwardly he seemed nothing special: he scorned the wearing of a suit, and had on his feet sandals. But he danced around her, and he kept her in his eyes, so that she smiled, time and time again, and perceived the beauty which was within.

The others around were watching, and the dancers knew that they had created something which could be seen, a tangible power and a beauty which the others did not share. They saw the dancers create this circle that could not be broken, and they wondered what was happening.

And the strangers' souls rejoiced in their intimacy, their bodies and minds touched as they would never touch again, and they knew one another in a way that few, ever, understand. They knew one another without claim on future or past, they felt the warmth of the racing blood and of the hands held on each other's hips, caressing, of the fierceness of their smiles, of the challenge in their eyes. They spoke to one another without words.

I am the dance, said he; and she answered, I have been waiting for you.

And at the end of the dance, when the music was slow and they could not continue, when they had finished and would never see one another again, she walked up to him and bade him farewell. She walked away without looking back, her back straight, carrying her colours with her like a billowing cloak. And she knew that his memory would be with her, always.