Arkady has dedicated his life to the world of ballet. He is known as the bad boy of the dance world, and is an ever rising star. Then he gets injured in what is at first thought to be a tragic accident but turns out to be so much worse. He's lost ballet, and his life feels unbalanced. A friendship with his no-nonsense physical therapist starts him on a new path. He has her friendship, a more honest relationship with his parents, his beloved dog Lou and, for the first time, maybe love in the form of an artist with a disability of his own. But the past isn't done with him yet.

Rise Again

“If he’s some asshole with a perfect life, I’m not sure I want to meet him.” Arkady sighs.


“Would I be friends with an asshole? No. He’s a good guy. He’s thirty, so older than you, but younger than my thirty-nine. He’s disabled, has been since birth, but he’s so positive about it,” Prisha says, massaging some tension out of Arkady’s calf.


“Disabled how?” Arkady’s curious. He’s met other patients at the physical therapy clinic, talked with some in the waiting room especially, and has realized they’re normal people. He likes some of them, dislikes others, so he knows things could go either way with this friend of Prisha’s.


“His right arm is totally paralyzed but feels phantom pain. The doctors could never work out why or do anything to fix it. He does PT to stop the muscles from wasting away. That’s how I met him; he’s a really sweet guy. I think you could use another friend, one who understand pain and life being more difficult,” Prisha says.


Chapter 16