Those 30 Seconds | Short Story

Hello Reader.

I hope you are able to imagine every description, just as vividly as I did while writing it. Also, “Don’t Drink and Drive”, it’s never done any good to anyone.

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As the slow music started filling the corridor, Julie knew she had only 30 seconds to make yet another stellar performance.

The first 5 seconds always threw Julie into a state of Euphoria.

Julie got up from her bed, moved forward and bowed. Even while her eyes were closed, she could feel what felt like, to have many eyes glued on her. Some Critics, Appraisers, Scrutinisers. While most of the audience was quiet, she could still hear some ruckus on the back. A baby crying, some hurried footsteps and people making hush-hush noises.  

She wondered if anyone noticed how nervous she was - If they could hear her heart beat, for it was thumping its loudest today. With every beat she moved her left foot backward on the slick floor, stretched upwards, fingers delicately bent… facing the sky now, revealing the dark scar on her waist – The scar she got as a result of falling off from a branch as a kid. It took her a long time to come to terms with it. All her friends would ask her about the scar, and those who didn’t ask, looked at her with a weird expression that made Julie conscious of her body.

Today however, she is a changed person. All of 27 years, Julie has out-grown small talks and when asked about the scar, she cheerfully replied “It’s nothing, Just Cheap Thrills”, followed by a wink.

As the music grew louder, Julie’s fingers clicked to the right and then clicked to the left. 20 seconds into the music, Julie had started feeling liberated as she danced her inhibitions away. Her feet then hit the floor, in a boisterous cry for all that was denied. For all those times she was overlooked, taken for granted and left behind.

Julie opened her eyes with a sly smile, and locked her gaze with the Jar of water placed at the only table. As if it was a person.

With one arm outstretched, she jerked her waist vivaciously. The other arm followed suit and she continued to jerk her slim waist along the beats. The fag end of her skirt that ended just above her ankle, tried its best to dance along. But just as it matched up with Julie’s movement, she would have advanced to yet another twirl. And the beautiful struggle continued.

She had planned an especially difficult step in the last 5 second of her performance.

However, the music stopped abruptly and Julie lost control of her step and fell. Ideally, the music should have lasted another 5 seconds. But today it lasted only 25. Even while there was no watch or a stop watch, Julie knew it by heart. She knew every day at 3pm, someone walked past the wall of her cellar, playing the same loud pop music. And those were the only 30 seconds of freedom she had. 30 seconds of interaction with the outside world. 30 seconds, of imagining herself on the stage – with a house full of audience.  

She fell with a solid thud, and looked up in disappointment.

“Nooo!” she squeaked under her breath.

“Please don’t stop”

But no one was hearing her. And she knew that.

An unfortunate night of driving home drunk and smashing her car in another one, landed Julie in a lot of uninvited problems. She thought the speedometer said 30Kms/hour. The police however said, she was driving at 80kms/hour.

Julie apologized endlessly. Even promised to never drink again in her lifetime. But the cops wouldn’t listen to her. The car she had run into, had a baby on board. While everyone escaped with minor injuries, the driver succumbed to multiple injuries. Her license was disqualified for 2 years and she was asked to serve 24 months in prison.

Who had thought, that an evening of happy laughter, celebrations on completing her dance course and memories would end with her being in jail for the next 2 years!

Anyway.

All of this doesn’t matter now.

Julie had always found solace in dance. And that’s what she did most of the times in the cellar. She was on a constant look out for anything musical. For example – sound of running water, synchronized footsteps, rhythm in endless chattering during lunch hour and one off sounds that would come from the one window of her cellar.

And one afternoon, when she was deep in her slumber, the music fell in her ears. She got up instantly and hummed along. Since then, every single day at the same hour, she hears this music for 30 whole seconds.

Biting her lips, Julie sighed.

Now she had to wait until tomorrow to complete her dance practise again. To finish the step she had thought of doing today. To listen to the music again. To feel liberated, Again.