He Finally Came

Aileen's POV on

The road I was currently on looked crowded. But somehow, I still felt lonely. I wished my mom were here. I wanted to share everything that I felt.

This was all because of him, the man who casually dragged me into a marriage, even though it did help me too. Still, I didn't think it would be like this.

I thought I would just go through with it easily. I meant our marriage would just flow without involving feelings in it, just like two strangers who happened to live together.

But I was wrong. This marriage did make an impact on me. Even in the last two weeks I had experienced a change of attitude towards myself, especially after I heard a lot of questions about him from my friends at college.

If only he didn't come to pick me up, maybe our relationship wouldn't be like this.

The voice of the taxi driver I was riding sounded, made me flinch and look around again.

Yes.... I was currently in a taxi because I preferred to refuse his offer to take me to the art show.

Huft...

Why was he only now trying to reprimand me? Why not from two weeks ago, precisely when he and I came home from that dinner, the dinner with the incident of meeting his ex.

Annoyed?

Of course...

Unfortunately, that woman rebuked at the wrong time and place. Why didn't she come when I was in fierce mode, so I could freely spit out my annoyance? The place where we had dinner was not suitable, if only the place where I met the woman was in the boxing ring, I was sure that she would regret disturbing our dinner.

But after she left, I wondered to myself, about  the words she said that he liked to dump women.

Could he be such a man?

I couldn't believe it, because of what? because as long as I lived with him he didn't look like that kind of man.

He actually took good care of me. He made sure I ate well, so I didn't eat instant food anymore, and he also paid off my debt without a second thought.

He was also an obedient son. He obeyed his parents's orders and attached importance to his parents' happiness.

He was still young, but he was an independent man and already had his own business whereas his mother and father were not from affluent circles like my childhood friend, who came from a wealthy family.

"Miss, the art building can be seen in front but it's jammed because many cars are queuing in!"

"It's ok, Sir. I can get off at the front bus stop, Sir," I said.

My taxi finally stopped at the bus stop near the art building. I got off and immediately walked towards the building with my bag slung over my shoulder. The bag contained my performance uniform, shoes and tights, while the leotard had been stuck to my body since I left the apartment.

Many people came, making me feel more excited and also pounding at the same time. The participants who would perform were not only from my university but also from several other universities even though they had different types of dances.

Becoming a Ballerina had always been my dream. This was also the dream of my late mother. Therefore I wanted to continue my mother's dream that had not been achieved. But unfortunately my father didn't want me to be like Mom.

As I was walking and looking around, I suddenly felt a tap on the shoulder and I could hear the voice of someone I recognized.

Pat!

"Ai!! Where's the man from that time?"

I immediately frowned when I heard a question from my friend who again asked about him.

"What the heck, Ra. You should ask, how am I preparing for my perform later, or whether I am ready or not.... But instead you ask about a man. Tsk."

A happy chuckle came from the person I called Ra or also known as Tiara. Tiara and I had been friends since we were babies. So she was my only friend who knew about my life so far. She was also the one who always told me the news about my family.

"Ha-ha.... If it's about that, I'm sure you're ready. After all, you have genes dancer inherited from the late aunty. So you definitely can do it... Trust me," Tiara said encouragingly after finishing with her small chuckle, making me silent when I heard Tiara's words.

"Hmm."

In the end I just mumbled and didn't want to discuss this matter any further.

"Cheer up, Ai. I just want you to remember who and what you're dancing for. I did not mean to make you sad. I'm sorry," Tiara continued with an unpleasant tone.

Ah! It turned out that my sad mumble was felt by Tiara, making me curse myself for making Tiara feel guilty.

"No! You're not wrong, Ra. I'm really excited. I'm also sure that later there will be extraordinary strength in me so that I can perform a good dance," I said calming her down and didn't want to make Tiara feel even more guilty.

"Ok, Ai. Remember that we always have to cheer up!" Tiara exclaimed, and forgot the previous discussion about a man whose name was Glenn who had annoyed me for the past two weeks. Finally, we both walked towards the dressing room to get ready.

In the large hall of the downtown art building, there were full of spectators gathered. The spectators were divided into aesthete, representatives from participants' university as well as from overseas universities, and friends and families of the participants.

The representatives from overseas universities were certainly who I was aiming for. If I could be seen by them, then a great opportunity would come to me. I hoped that they chose me among the many dancers performing.

But besides my hope of being chosen, I also hoped that he would come to see my appearance. But, that would be impossible because I knew that today he had to fly to Germany for his business.

"It's okay. After this is over, tomorrow I will catch up with him and meet him," I thought sadly.

Huft.. I couldn't be like this. He couldn't possibly have time to see my performance.

"You can do this, Aileen Soray-

"Ai! Are you ready yet? It's our turn."

The call from Tiara made me stop saying the sentence, that was going to mention my full name given by my father and mother which I hadn't mentioned in a long time.

"Yes! I'm ready," I answered immediately and followed Tiara who was already neatly dressed in our performance clothes.

"Check your gear again, ribbon and shoes." Our coach said.

We immediately checked the ribbon ties on our shoes to minimize any unwanted incidents, then looked back at the coach who had a tense face in front of us all.

"So, are you ready?" Our coach asked again and we nodded in unison.

"Ready, Miss!"

"Ok..., let's pray first before performing. Praying begins!"

Instantly there was silence.

I clasped my hands tightly and then asked God to make our show with the 'white snow' theme, which we had been preparing for almost six months, ran smoothly.

"I hope all goes well, and I hope also that he can see my solo dance, amen," I thought desperately, then opened my eyelids and high five with the team.

"Fighting!"

Skip

The first show ended with loud applause from the audience. Now I was waiting to be called to perform solo. Opportunities that had not been obtained by many people. I became even more excited, when I was finally able to show off my skills in front of many people like this.

So far I had not seen his existence, but I had to stay focused and not let my coach down. I had to impress everyone with my dance.

"Mom.... Pray for me from there," I mumbled before returning to the stage and greeting the audience, then prepared with a dance which I practiced for almost a year, a much longer preparation compared to the joint performance.

Of course, because doing ballet was not easy, but it would not difficult if we study and work hard. But weren't-

Thump!

My eyes immediately froze when I saw his figure standing still at the entrance.

He finally came. He even stared back at me without blinking, leaving me momentarily stunned silent if I hadn't noticed my surroundings

With a smile on my lips, I began again to make my movement with my eyes occasionally looking at him. I was hoping that what I saw wasn't a fata morgana and it was real, even though he didn't came in like the night he suddenly came. But I knew, if this was really real.

God heard my request by making him come to see my appearance. Whereas I knew, if he should be preparing for his flight right now.

As if I was blending with the music I had been listening for a year, I moved very smoothly. I danced without noticing my surroundings except him. I felt like I was dancing alone but only him watching me without anyone around us.

I didn't know what was going on, as if I had no control over my body myself and when the applause echoed, there I realized that I was too deeply into the dance, as well as his arrival which made me even more excited.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Whistle~Whistle~

The applause and cheers of the audience marked the end of my performance, as I covered my face with my arms as if to cover my face from the crowd.

"I did it. Thank you God," I thought with crystal pooling at the corners of my eyes.

Aileen's POV end

To be continued.