Wings Of A Nightingale

To Dance Again

She was beautiful and elegant in her figure skating outfit. He was handsome in his costume that sculpted his athletic frame. They glided smoothly to the center of the arena in white well-polished ice skating shoes to compete at the US National Figure Skating.

Maggie and William were partners in ice dancing. Friendship, trust, and love developed through years of training.

Just like their previous performances, every move was precise and perfect. In the end, they secured the most coveted spot to qualify for the Winter Olympics.

But fate had a different plan. After a late afternoon practice, William dropped Maggie off to her mother’s veterinary clinic. As she opened the door, a small brown Labradoodle ran out, into the busy street. Maggie instinctively ran after the little canine. Unaware of the signal light that turned green in the intersection, a fast Ford Mustang hit her. She tumbled on the sidewalk and flat on her back. When she regained consciousness, she found herself lying on a hospital bed.  Her right kneecap was badly broken and displaced. Her left leg was fractured and a steel rod was placed to stabilize it. There was no guarantee she will be able to skate the way she used to. Devastated, she could not accept that it may be the end of her dream, and William’s.

For the duration of her hospital stay, recovery, and after discharge William stayed by her side to regain her strength and cheer her up.

The date of the competition was nearing. William had to find a new partner if he will opt to compete. He chose not to, even after Maggie begged him to “skate for both of us.” He could not imagine skating without her.

William lost interest and drive to even tie the laces of his skates or go to the ice rink. He still regularly visited Maggie.  One evening, Maggie’s mother handed him an envelope and informed that Maggie left, with specific instruction “to not try to find her…ever”. William felt his head spinning. He could not speak, his vocal cords tight. All he did was stared at the sealed envelope. He slowly walked away from Maggie’s home…and her life.

At home, he stared at the now crumpled envelope. Part of him wanted to just throw it in the garbage, but he needed to know the reason why Maggie left. Perhaps, the letter will provide him the answer.

His most dreaded reality crushed his whole being. Maggie ended their relationship, saying she could not bear to watch him slowly drifting away from pursuing his dream and his future. Her final words before she signed her name was “skate for both of us”. That was the last time he heard from her.

Maggie recovered with no major residual of her injury. She can walk steadily, but occasionally struggled to maintain her gait and balance when she lost her footing. She accepted that the ice rink was no longer her comfort zone. Instead of feeling sorry, she went to school and finished a degree that help rehabilitate athletes.

William was still in her thoughts, and longed for him. William on the other hand left home and put all his time and effort in training as a skier. He did not intend to compete, but wanted to teach and train potential athletes. With a friend, they taught skiing lessons in the slopes of Colorado. His love for Maggie never did change, but he respected her wish to not find her. He knew in his heart that somewhere, she was also thinking of him.

Maggie graduated with a degree of Chiropractic Medicine and settled in a quiet little town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Along with a colleague they started a private practice. The “Heart Of The Slopes Therapeutic Center” specialized and rehabilitate athletes with disorders and injury of the muscles and joints.

The clinic is usually busy whole year round, but more during wintertime when aspiring athletes came for training on the icy slopes. One equally busy morning, an emergency transport halted in front of the clinic. A skier in a wheelchair was rushed inside. He was with a group of aspiring skiers on training. According to first responders, the young man lost his balance and fell during his practice run down the mountain.

Maggie was busy assessing his injury, when she heard a man’s voice asking about the condition of her patient. She was positive, she heard that familiar voice before. Her heartbeat raced. There she was, face to face with William. Both of them were stunned to see each other again. “Maggie!” In just two short strides, he closed the gap between them, and wrapped her in his arms, as if never to let her go again. It was bliss to be in the comfort of his embrace.

Time stood still. Only their hearts spoke the same language of love that never changed even with the passing of time. Yes, they each followed a dream. Not the dream that they envisioned to pursue together. But the path that they carved steered them to the journey that they will share for the rest of their lives.

They exchanged their wedding vows in the skating center where they first met and trained. The same perfect pair who ice danced ten years ago.

-©Lark-

(2018)2024

Along Memory Lane

When you ask where the Dela Rosa’s residence is, you will never miss it, as almost every native Lezonian will point you to the right direction. For over a century and six generations, my ancestral home has been standing on the same spot, although the facade has been renovated through the years.

While growing up in this house, there were countless memories that I treasure in my heart. Some were stories that happened even before I was born and were shared to me; others were memories that I personally witnessed or have been a part of.

It was in this house that my paternal grandfather Simeon la Rosa, lived during the time that he was an active political figure under the banner of the then Liberal Party. He was the first elected town mayor, thus the street where we live was named after him; he hosted caucuses with prominent politicians such as former president of the Philippines Manuel Roxas when he visited Aklan, and former Governor/Congressman Godofredo Ramos, known as the Father of Aklan, to name a few.

Being an active Roman Catholics, my grandparents and parents welcomed in this house almost all parish priests assigned in the church of St. Isidore the Farmer. My aunt, Sister Mary Ignatius, SPC of the order of St. Paul of Chartres (my father’s only sister) lived in this house before she studied to be a nurse, and later on became a nun. It was in this house that I learned to pray, embraced and strengthened my faith in God.

When my father got married in January 1955, he brought home his new bride (my mother) to live in this house. I was born and raised here, together with my three siblings; created new memories while we were growing up, until all four of us spread our wings and made a new home with a family of our own.

Although now that distance stand between my siblings and I, and home, we still make it a tradition to come back home, together with our children. And who knows, in the near future, I will finally come back to this house in Dela Rosa Street, so that memories shall continue to be created, a treasure that I will pass on to my child and future grandchildren.

-Lark-

07.19.2017