Dance - Cinderella Retold

ONE "Now your father must teach you to dance." The words rang like a bell in Mai's head, for they were the last thing her mother said to her before she died. But her father showed no signs of teaching her anything, if in fact he noticed her at all. So deeply was he mired in his grief that Mai wondered if he even remembered he had a daughter. He moved from snake to dragon to tiger, each pose as graceful as the last, until Father became a fighter and nothing more. She knew his prowess in battle honoured the ancestors and that Mother was one of them now, but with each blow he aimed at the air, he dishonoured her last wishes. Mai was only a little girl, but she had made promises to her mother, too. She had vowed to love, care for and honour her father. So her sense of duty made her step into the courtyard and face the furious man who fought ghosts. His hand stopped a breath from her face. "You should not be here, child," he said, his voice raw and breathless. Her dark eyes brimmed with hope. "I wish to dance, too, Father," she said. "Show me." He shook his head. "I only know the martial dance. It is the dance for highborn sons, not daughters." "Mother said you must teach me." Father dropped to his knees. "If it was her wish, then I must." In the mud of the courtyard, Mai found her father again. His instructions seemed strange at first, but as her movements became more practiced and fluid, she understood that this was a dance, if different to the dances her mother had excelled in. Every morning, she joined her father in the courtyard for their daily dance until the sun rose above the house walls and set his grey hair aglow. Many moons passed in this way, until one summer dawn. Father smiled, then he laughed and said, "You have your mother's grace, Mai. If she had ever picked up a sword, she would have been both deadly and beautiful." Mai felt his eyes on her, reading her soul. "I will not always be able to protect you, so perhaps it is fitting that you learn all that I can teach you, before I join the ancestors and your mother." "You are not..." She swallowed. "You're not ill, are you, Father?" "No, I'm not. But we never know how much time we will have, so we must make the most of it." He bowed his head. "Today, I will go on a journey. The new Emperor summons me to court, and I must obey." Mai swallowed hard, blinking back tears. "Yes, Father. I will pray to Mother every day until you return." Father smiled down sadly at his young daughter. "Living or dead, she will always bring me home."