Do Swans Fly, or do they Dance?

I had always imagined escaping into another world. I mean, my life wasn't boring, it just was not as fun as it could be.

Well, that was until I fell through the house that day.

Our house was undergoing renovations, and our floor was getting fixed. It was an old house, so there was a lot that needed to be done.

One morning, I was dancing along in the house, with my eyes closed, becoming lost in Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake".

I spun, and I spun until I fell through one of the floorboards...

It seemed like I was falling forever.

Until I landed.... into the barn.

It was odd because I felt no pain when landing. It was as if I fell on a fluffy cloud.

Still confused at this point, I stood up, and looked through the window, to see if anyone was around.

This wasn't the same place I grew up in...

"Where am I"?, I thought to myself.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. I was afraid to answer, so I hid in the barn.

They knocked again.

This time, I heard the sound of a sweet girl's voice. So I opened the door, and there she was.

She was dressed in old-fashioned clothing. I'm not sure if she was dressed up for a party, and I didn't think they made costumes like this anymore.

"Are you lost?", the little girl asked me.

"What do you mean, I live here...", I said.

The little girl giggled.

"What's so funny?", I asked.

"Well...this isn't where you live...this is where I live!", the little girl said.

I mean, something must've happened when I fell. Perhaps I forgot who I was.

So I continued to ask the little girl questions.

"What year is it?", I asked.

"Well, it's 1877 silly!", the girl said as she continued to giggle.

Okay, I know I just fell through floorboards, but I know for sure there's no way it was 2021 just a few minutes ago...

I've heard of time travel before, but I thought this was something people had planned, not fell into.

And then, it suddenly hit me, 1877 was the year Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Ballet premiered.

"Do you know anything about ballet?" I asked the little girl.

"Well, of course! My father is training ballet dancers for this spectacular new ballet performance!!!", the girl said.

"Do you know the name of the performance?", I asked.

"Ummmm...Daddy doesn't talk much about it, but he mentioned something about a Swan...", the girl said.

The little girl eventually left. She came back every few days to bring me something to eat and to drink.

But I couldn't eat much.

All I wanted to do, was to become a ballerina of the first Swan Lake performance.

I became obsessed with practicing.

The barn wasn't an ideal place, but it was somewhere I could focus. I could be alone and completely free. Without worrying I was doing something incorrectly.

I became lost in the art of dance itself.

I would close my eyes, and imagine myself being the center of the stage...dressed as the lead white swan.

And then, my daydream became interrupted. The door suddenly opened.

It was a man, dressed in formal clothing, who said to me:

"I've been watching you dance from the window for a few days now. You are very good. There are few things about your technique that I could help you with, but there is something about the way you dance, it is almost dream-like."

I blushed.

"In a few weeks, a group of my ballet dancers will be premiering Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. I want you to be a part of it".

I stood there for a moment in shock.

"Well, are you going to say something??", he asked.

"YES! YES!! Of course I will be a part of it!".

"Great. Well, don't let me disturb you. And, normally, I'd offer for you to practice with the other dancers, but it seems this barn has some sort of effect on you, so please continue to practice here. You're always welcome to use the house for any of your other needs throughout the day".

For the next few days, I kept on practicing in the barn, and the man came in every once in a while to teach me the routine of the performance.

I became obsessed with the performance. I wanted to be the star of the show.

I closed my eyes, I spun, I spun, and I spun so much, I started to fly into the air.

And then as quickly as I rose up...

BANG.

I fell to the ground.

"Jane!! Jane!!!!", someone yelled out.

"Who could this be?" I thought. No one knows my name...

I slowly opened my eyes and saw my Mother.

"Jane! Are you okay??", my Mother asked.

I realized at this point, my head hurt a bit. I also realized I had fallen into a stack of hay. It probably saved my life.

I quickly ran to the window and noticed I was back in 2021.

It turns out... it was all a dream.

I ended up practicing Swan Lake on my own, in that barn, for the next couple of weeks.

Every now and then, my Mother would record me.

Just like in the dream, I had closed my eyes and imagined myself on the stage.

She sent the recording to a prestigious dance company without me knowing. And a few days later...I was offered a permanent position as a dancer.

It wasn't long till I traveled around the world, as the star of the Swan Lake Ballet performance.

And I'll always be grateful, for that time I flew into the barn...