“Ah—” she cried out as she slid to the ground. The wooden floor was very slippery, and her body glided like a plane that had been shot down, skidding to the other side of the classroom, crashing into the wall.
“I’m fine,” she said, her legs spread apart as she crawled on the floor, holding her slightly aching ankle with her hands.
“Khanyi! How are you? Let’s go to the infirmary,” Annabel rushed to her side. Fortunately, she had practiced dance and was quite flexible; if it had been someone else in such a split position, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
“No, it’s okay. I just need to rest a bit,” she said as she stood up with Annabel ‘s help, hopping on one foot to a chair, trying to move her ankle. “Uh, it’s not a sprain, just a twist. I’ll be fine after resting a bit. You go back to practice.”
“I’ll stay here with you,” Annabel sat down beside her.
“Then you can take a break with her,” the coach clapped her hands and said. “Girls, let’s continue. Everyone, hold onto the bar and do some basic ballet movements.”
The girls practiced under the coach’s guidance, struggling a bit. Khanyi stared blankly at these girls of various heights and shapes. Although she couldn’t perform the thirty-two whip turns in the black swan duet as perfectly as the Soviet teacher at the church school, such simple turns should be manageable. Suddenly, her mood turned gloomy.
Annabel noticed her emotions and quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault for suggesting you dance. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have fallen…”
“It’s not your fault. My ankle was previously sprained and hasn’t fully healed. It seems… I really can’t dance,” she said softly, lowering her head.
“It won’t be like that, it won’t!” Annabel hurriedly grasped her hand, but as soon as she touched Khanyi’s cold fingers, Khanyi instinctively pulled her hand back.
“How did your ankle get injured?” Annabel asked with concern, noticing Khanyi rubbing the tape on her chest, seemingly annoyed by its stickiness, and rolling up a small corner. On her fair chest, there seemed to be some black patterns, and her mood appeared even lower, her voice becoming hoarse. “Annabel , I can’t control it.”
“What?” Annabel was taken aback by her sudden words.
“Love…”
“Love?”
“Love is a wild horse that has broken free, racing towards a cliff, and I am powerless to stop it. It is a bright red rose blooming on blood, and when you pick it, you will inevitably be pierced by its sharp thorns, leaving you wounded all over…”
“Why do you say that all of a sudden?” Annabel looked at her, even more puzzled.
Khanyi raised her head, gazing at her, tears shimmering in her dark eyes. “This is what I’ve experienced, love,” Annabel looked back at her, only to hear her continue, “His appearance is handsome and elegant, captivating, but his heart is dark and unfathomable. I can never forget how he forced me to wear a pair of crystal shoes and dragged me across the lawn when my ankle was already sprained, and I couldn’t stand or walk at all…”
Annabel finally understood something from her fragmented words and tried to comfort her. “The way he hurt you might be out of pride and self-esteem; they are all like that.”
“But he killed for me. My partner, Dr. Harrison, died under his gunfire. And… an innocent boy.” As Khanyi thought of this, her emotions surged rapidly.
“Yes, in this crazy world, people have become crazy…”
“In fact, he also assaulted me, not just once… I try not to think about it, and sometimes I don’t know whether I should forgive him. I might as well take revenge by killing him with his gun while he sleeps, but you know? When he sleeps, he looks like an angel.”
“Since you don’t agree with his ways, why t*****e yourself like this?” Annabel finally couldn’t help but retort.
Khanyi was taken aback by her question, blinking her dark eyes frequently as if considering how to respond. She knew her thoughts were chaotic. After a long pause, she lowered her gaze to Annabel ‘s bright black eyes and could only continue to pour out her innermost thoughts.
“I know he loves me, a deep and crazy love. He takes my hand to touch the deepest part of his heart, where there is a flat and soft place. He has an unknown past, a very tragic childhood that evokes pity. I can understand why he has become this way… Sometimes, I feel like my heart is a sponge, absorbing something filthy, and then wringing it out, draining the water,” she said, “You know? He has many medals, all kinds, dazzling…”
“Medals? Philip has many too, but he only wears one, the double sword silver oak leaf. He treasures that more than life itself; it was awarded to him when he won the Nobel Prize,” Annabel said with a smile, her tone calm, but Khanyi could still sense an undercurrent of emotion beneath that calmness, though she didn’t let it show too much.
Seeing that she had fallen silent, Khanyi took over her words. “The Nobel Prize? I didn’t expect Philip to be so talented… He also has a very special medal, the Olympic medal. He is an equestrian, a gold medalist. I’ve seen one of his competition events, the dressage.”
