I woke up in the same room - white walls stretching as tall as skyscrapers.

The girl with gray hair and gray eyes was gone. Erin was gone.

I lazily stood up and clenched onto my bowtie necklace. My hand immediately drew back from the chill of its steel.

I cuffed my mouth and exhaled, trying to give warmth to my hands.

As I turned around, a cassette tape appeared on top of the white box table.

My eyebrows furrowed.

Humph. . . interesting. . .

I waltzed over to the table and picked up the tape. I turn it upside down, poking and prodding at it. Nothing special, just a cassette tape.

"How did this get here?" I spoke aloud.

"How did what get here?" Erin asked, appearing behind me.

"This," I held up the tape, "-oh. . . uh, hello. . ."

"Hi, Sophie," she smiled warmly.

I turned back around to face the table and a cassette player now stood on top of the white 3D box.

How convenient. . .

Erin and I exchanged looks of curiosity.

Eh, why not?

I popped the cassette tape into the player and hit 'play'.

[Authors note: click the YouTube video and you can hear the music and see Erin's dance]

The strings of a violin then gracefully glided into my ears. I instantly recognized the chords.

Erin noticed that I began playing the air violin, "You know this song too?" she asked.

"Yup. Of course! It's Tchaikovsky. I learned it at orchestra in school."

"I learned the dance of the little swans in ballet class," Erin said as she began in the croisé position, looking over her shoulder.

She crossed her hands at her side as if she was holding hands with a quartet of ballerinas and she glided across the room, switching from coupe, to jete, and then to retire passe.

I slowly lowered my hands from playing the air violin just to watch her.

She must have had real training because her posture seemed so. . . elegant. I took ballet when I was younger but I quit when I was 4. She danced like a real ballerina - with grace and poise. She had that ballet sparkle.

She stopped dancing and the music kept playing, she looked over to me and the faster violin part began - now it was my turn!

I lifted my head and rested my air violin underneath my chin. Then I lifted my air bow like a wizard holding a wand.

I played the notes along with the cassette and began to waltz around clumsily.

Erin laughed and joined me, continuing her dance with her imaginary quartet.

We just laughed and pranced around. . . Erin prancing more gracefully than I of course.

After about one minute of dancing around and laughing until our stomachs ached, the song ended. 

"That was fun!" Erin beamed.

"Yeah," I said breathlessly, I don't know how she wasn't tired from all this dancing, I was POOPED.

Erin's face changed - her expression became solemn. She sat on the floor and brushed her gray hair behind her right ear.

I plopped down next to her, "You okay?" I asked with sincerity.

"Yeah," she avoided eye contact, "It's just that I was a ballerina when I was alive and now. . . I can't be one anymore. I lost all my technique and I just barely remembered that dance." 

"Hey Erin, I think you nailed it! That was amazing and I can totally imagine you performing on stage! I wish I was that talented."

"But you are. . . I can't play an instrument and to learn Tchaikovsky, that takes some serious talent."

"Tchaikovsky is really hard," I leaned in and whispered, "I still didn't even hit the right notes and I'm playing the air violin," a chuckle escaped my lips and I switched to my normal tone, "I really want to be a musician. I think it would be so fun to be in an orchestra or to make my own songs, or play for a movie soundtrack!" reality kicked in, "- but it's too difficult to be an artist. There's too much competition and it's not a stable career. Plus, I'm not nearly as good as I should be to even try to become professional." 

"Hey, whoever told you that doesn't know anything. No one knows the future, so I say, go for it! I think you can do it."

I smiled warmly, "Thank you, Erin, that means a lot." 

Maybe I will go for it. . . 

***