─── ❖ ── ✦ ── ❖ ───
📸https://muryou-aigazou.com/
✦"You win some, you lose some."✦
From early childhood, Maya had learned that her life was best measured in measures. Maya was always counting, counting the steps from the living room to the kitchen, counting the hops tile by tile on her way to school, always careful not to step on the lines. The whole city was her impromptu theater, every passerby her audience. She danced to name the world, she danced to be happy; for her, each turn was a word, each fall a confession that she would fight to be the best. Just after turning 18, the opportunity she had been waiting for arrived, an offer she couldn't refuse: the lead role in the city's most important company. When she received the envelope, her hands trembled like wounded pigeons in the park. For a moment, she didn't dare open it, but seeing the words, "We await your response," at the end of the letter, ignited a light in her chest, a light that was unique to her.
But the joy and the light didn't last long; she soon found someone who would try to extinguish it. Anna was her friend, one of those friends forged in promises and childhood memories, an inseparable companion in rehearsals and dreams, and above all, dreams: they both dreamed of the same role. Together they had shared everything: sneakers, secrets, and the habit of walking home together eating ice cream and secretly breaking their strict diets. They talked about choreography and their impossible loves.
Maya's selection opened a rift between them that neither knew how to mend, a wound neither knew how to stitch. Guilt invaded Maya's mind and chest, a weight that pounded her back until she was breathless. Anna, on the other hand, saw everything as a cruel and merciless conspiracy; her world had turned gray and cold. The city that once celebrated Maya's small victories with coffee and morning laughter was now a cold distance of gray faces. Conversations between them became measured, barely polite greetings on rehearsal afternoons, silences that could be heard above the constant music in the mirrored room.
The afternoon before the big premiere arrived, and a note appeared in Maya's bag:
-See you in the plaza
Maya didn't need signatures; she knew the handwriting perfectly. It was Anna's handwriting.
The plaza was deserted, and the cold December air was beginning to make the pigeons avoid flight and seek every ray of sunshine. Even so, the air smelled of rain and freshly baked bread from the nearby bakeries and cafes. Maya held her gaze high, happy because perhaps this would be the reunion with that friend, the forgiveness for following her dreams that she so longed for. Anna's face, on the other hand, was a shadow, the shadow of someone who had been displaced, replaced. There was only one exchange between them, brief and sharp, like a dagger, a dialogue that condensed what they hadn't said to each other during this past month.
"Do you think it's worth it? Do you think winning is worth losing what made us who we are?" Ana asked, almost to the air, her voice filled with reproach and fear.
There was no answer; the question hung in the air of the plaza. Maya tried to find answers in her pockets, in her memory: shared hours, promises of support, sleepless nights, staying awake, correcting postures and steps. She found no comfort, no answers: only simple and painful truths. That role was her life, Anna was her friend; there were no middle grounds. Her life had always been one of sacrifices, but this time the sacrifice came with a constant triumph.
Maya didn't respond with excuses; she took Anna's hand and simply squeezed it. There was no apology, no permission. She knew that sometimes success meant loneliness, but she didn't want guilt to be a wall between them. Their friendship would never be the same; they would never be the same innocent girls again, but that was part of life, and they would both have to live with it, each with her own pain and losses. Triumphs come at a price, and they aren't always paid for with money or the applause of anonymous passersby.
Holding onto that spot in that plaza was the decision, without drama, that they would both accept the complexity of their feelings, the evolution of their friendship: celebrating the achievement, the resentment, and the fear of failure, while also tending to the wound that had opened up.
The premiere was a success, as if Maya had been born to bring her character to life. She danced as if each step were a letter addressed to her younger self, to the passersby who watched her dance, and to a lost friend who had seen her grow up. In the audience, a different Anna watched, dazzled yet simultaneously envious and resentful. Even so, in the end, she rose and applauded like never before, because deep down, something filled her with pride. Later that morning, they returned to the plaza, shoes in hand and hearts beating differently. Nothing was as before; some routines would disappear, others would transform. In the end, Maya knew she had found what she had searched for since childhood, but along the way, she had lost something she had built with her soul. There were no regrets on either side, only acceptance and only dancing. That's life: sometimes you gain something you always wanted, but you lose something else along the way.
─── ❖ ── ✦ ── ❖ ───
The Inkwell Combined Writing Prompt #9 ~ Fiction or Creative Nonfiction ▶️ https://ecency.com/created/@theinkwell/the-inkwell-combined-writing-prompt-9--fiction-or-creative-nonfiction
─── ❖ ── ✦ ── ❖ ───
─── ❖ ── ✦ ── ❖ ───
─── ❖ ── ✦ ── ❖ ───
📸https://muryou-aigazou.com/
✦Ganas unas, pierdes otras✦
Maya desde su temprana infancia había aprendido que su vida como mejor se medía era con compases. Maya siempre estaba contando, contaba los pasos de la sala a la cocina, contaba los saltos baldosa a baldosa cuando iba a la escuela siempre evitando pisar las líneas. Toda la ciudad era su teatro improvisado, todos los transeúntes eran su público. Bailaba para nombrar el mundo, bailaba para ser feliz, para ella cada giro era una palabra, cada caída una confesión de que lucharía por ser la mejor. Recién cumplidos sus 18 años llegó, llegó la oportunidad que tanto estaba esperando, una oferta que no podía rechazar, el papel principal en la compañía más importante de la ciudad, cuando recibió el sobre sus manos temblaban como tiemblan las palomas heridas en el parque, por un momento no se atrevía a abrirla, pero ver el: Esperamos su respuesta, al final de la carta, se encendió en su pecho una luz, una luz que para ella era única.
Pero la alegría y la luz no duró mucho, no tardó en encontrar quien tratara de apagarla. Anna era su amiga, esas amigas de promesas y recuerdos desde la infancia, compañera inseparable de ensayos y sueños, y sobre todo sueños: ambas soñaban con el mismo papel. Juntas habían compartido todo, zapatillas, secretos y la costumbre de regresar a casa juntas comiendo un helado y rompiendo en secreto la estricta dieta, hablaban de coreografías y de sus amores imposibles.
La selección de Maya abrió una grieta entre ellas que ninguna de las dos supo cómo reparar, una herida que ninguna sabía cómo coser. La culpa invadió la mente y el pecho de Maya, era un peso que golpeaba su espalda hasta dejarla sin aliento, Anna en cambio veía todo como una conspiración una cruel y despiadada, su mundo se había vuelto gris y frío. La ciudad que antes celebraba las pequeñas victorias de Maya con cafés y risas de mañana ahora era una fría distancia de rostros grises. Entre las dos las conversaciones se volvieron medidas, apenas saludos de cortesía en las tardes de ensayo, silencios que se escuchaban por encima de la música constante de la sala llena de espejos.
Llegó la tarde antes del gran estreno, y una nota apareció en el bolso de Maya:
-Nos vemos en la plaza
Maya no necesitó firmas conocía la letra a la perfección, era la letra de Anna.
La plaza estaba desierta y el aire frío de diciembre comenzaba a hacer que las palomas evitaran el vuelo y buscaran cada rayo de sol. Aun así el aire olía a lluvia y a pan recién hecho de las panaderías y cafés cercanos. Maya llevaba la mirada en alto alegre porque quizás este sería el reencuentro con esa amiga, el perdón por seguir sus sueños que tanto ansiaba, en cambio el rostro de Anna era una sombra, esa sombra de quien ha sido desplazada, de quien ha sido sustituida. Solo hubo un diálogo entre ellas, breve y afilado, como daga, un diálogo que condensó lo que no se habían dicho durante este último mes.
-¿Crees que vale la pena?, ¿Crees que ganar vale perder lo que nos hizo ser nosotras?- preguntó Ana, casi al aire, con una voz de reproche y miedo.
No hubo respuesta, la pregunta quedó suspendida en el aire de la plaza. Maya trató de buscar respuestas, en los bolsillos, en su memoria: horas compartidas, promesas de apoyo, noches sin dormir, en vela, corrigiendo posturas y pasos. No encontró consuelo, no encontró respuestas: solo verdades simples y dolorosas. Era su vida ese papel, era Anna su amiga, no habían puntos medios, siempre su vida había sido de renuncias, pero esta vez la renuncia vino con un triunfo contante.
Maya no respondió con excusas, tomó la mano de Anna y simplemente la apretó, no hubo perdón ni permiso, sabía que a veces el éxito era soledad, pero no quería que la culpa fuera un muro entre ellas. La amistad nunca sería la misma entre ellas, nunca serían las mismas chicas inocentes, pero eso era parte de la vida y ambas tendrían que convivir con eso, cada una con sus dolores y sus pérdidas. Los triunfos vienen con precios y no siempre se pagan con dinero o con aplausos de anónimos transeúntes.
Sostenerse en ese instante en esa plaza fue la decisión, sin dramatismos, que ambas aceptarían la complejidad de sus sentimientos, la evolución de su amistad: celebrar el logro, el rencor y el miedo al fracaso, y al mismo tiempo cuidar la herida que había surgido.
El estreno fue un éxito como si Maya hubiese nacido para darle vida a su personaje, bailó como si cada paso fuera una carta dirigida a su yo de niña, a los transeúntes que la veían bailar y a una amiga perdida que la había visto crecer. En el público una Anna distinta miraba encandilada y a la vez con envidia y rencor, aun así al final se levantó y aplaudió como nunca, porque a la vez muy en el fondo algo la llenaba de orgullo. Después esa madrugada volvieron a la plaza con zapatillas en las manos y latidos distintos en el corazón. Nada era como antes, algunas rutinas iban a desaparecer otras a transformarse. Al final Maya sabía que había encontrado lo que tanto había buscado en su vida desde que era una niña, pero en el camino había perdido algo que construyó con su alma. No hubo arrepentimientos de ninguna parte, solo aceptación y solo baile. La vida es eso a veces ganas algo que siempre quisiste, pero pierdes otra cosa en el camino.
─── ❖ ── ✦ ── ❖ ───
The Inkwell Combined Writing Prompt #9 ~ Fiction or Creative Nonfiction ▶️ https://ecency.com/created/@theinkwell/the-inkwell-combined-writing-prompt-9--fiction-or-creative-nonfiction
─── ❖ ── ✦ ── ❖ ───
Your story is beautiful; it truly highlights the value of friendship, but when Maya triumphed, he lost Anna's friendship. That's why sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Merry Christmas!
Your story is beautiful and told with great emotion. The loss of friendship and the achievement in art, a passion that requires dedication. I loved it.
Thank you @almadepoeta for sharing it.
Greetings and blessings.
Great interpretation of the prompt. Maya gained something desirable, but there was a trade-off with the loss of the childhood friendship, which you described very well in this paragraph:
I like it because in a few sentences you describe the depth of their friendship, and the possible conflict because both of them dream of the same role. Well done!