There's no tail. There's no Grieg. There's just me, the magic of my dance, and the magic Grandma and Irene made for me.
When the music stops, I hear only my own breath and heartbeat, and for a dizzying moment I almost think no one saw, that they all left, that I might have dreamed it. Then, the clapping starts, and does not stop. The applause thunder around me, echoing, as if we really are in a hall beneath a mountain. Grandma is on her feet; Irene is grinning, and everyone else smiling: Mom, dad, even Marie.
I take a bow, and in that moment, I feel as strong and powerful as all the rocks and roots in the forest.
Most days, I love to dance. Most days, I love being a troll. Most days, I love being me.
Today is definitely one of those days.
____
Copyright 2018 Maria Haskins
Maria Haskins is a Swedish-Canadian writer of speculative fiction. She was born and grew up in Sweden and debuted as a writer there in the mythical era known as "the 1980s". Currently, she lives just outside Vancouver with a husband, two kids, and a very large black dog.
Her work has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Shimmer, Pseudopod, Mythic Delirium, Cast of Wonders, several anthologies, and elsewhere. Her latest self-published release is the flash-fiction collection "Dark Flash 3". Find out more on her website or follow her on Twitter.
Giganotosaurus is published monthly by Late Cretaceous and edited by Rashida J. Smith.
http://giganotosaurus.org
editor@giganotosaurus.org