i hope you dance

Monday, February 26, 2018



you weren't expecting to ever see that handwriting again.

the looping black swirls that look like home, familiar as the way she always bit her lip when she didn't know what to say. the same paper, never purely white. always a hint of yellow to it, as if her letters were as old as her soul.

you never expected to see that handwriting again, but here it was, as real and as tangible as if she were standing right in front of you.

in an instant, you're sitting on the edge of the pier again, the salt air filling your lungs with the freedom of the night. your feet swing above the waves, crashing hard and fast into the wooden supports below. she's trying to keep the wind from blowing her hair into her face as she laughs, saying something that you can't remember anymore. the words don't stick in your brain like the images did.

but now the words are in front of you, stamped on the page, and as much as you want to stuff it into the box tucked under the floorboards, you can't keep your eyes from flying across the yellowed paper. you hop from sentence to sentence, not letting yourself linger on anything for too long.

i don't know if this is your address anymore. part of me hopes that it isn't.

.....

mom still tells me to tell you hello every once in a while. these days, she doesn't remember. it's easier not to keep telling her.

.....

i don't know why i'm writing this.

your eyes freeze on the sentence. you don't know why you're reading this. yet, it draws you in even deeper. you stop hopping from sentence to sentence and let yourself linger, actually absorb that looping handwriting. going back, just for a moment.

i'm sure that you think that i'm mad. you always thought everyone around you was. you never could seem to figure out that you were the only one who was ever really angry. 

well, i'm not.

maybe i should be. maybe it would be easier. but maybe i don't want that, maybe i never wanted that. i never wanted to be angry with you, no matter how many times you seemed to try to stir it out of me. i'm still sorry for that one time that i threw my sister's book at you. i hope the bruise faded eventually.

i hope a lot of things, i guess. i hope that the bruise faded, along with the other ones you had long before i came along. i hope that the knot that always seemed pulled tight around your chest is finally starting to come undone. if we're being honest, i hope that you're still reading this, even if i still don't know if i hope that you get it.

i hope that you finally see some rain in that dried up desert of yours. i hope that you can finally stumble a few steps closer to the sunset you've been chasing for so long. 

i hope you dance.

i hope that the skies open up and the rain pours down and you dance. i hope that you feel the sting of the water hitting your skin and that the bruises start to fade and that you dance until you can't dance any longer. i hope that the music sweeps you up in a song you've never heard before and you dance.

i hope that one day, you think of the girl who took you to the ocean and tried to remind you what it was like to feel alive. 

the salt spray is hitting your face. it burns and you blink and you're back in your kitchen, sitting at the scarred wooden table and staring at the sight of home on the page. 

you slowly push your chair back and stand, still staring down at the table. not sure if you're seeing anything anymore. 

you fold the letter back up into neat little thirds. you count the steps as you climb the stairs to the back bedroom, filled with dust and memories.

the floorboard in the very corner is coated with an even layer of grime and dirt and history. you pry it up with your calloused fingers, lifting out the box from underneath. 

the letter joins the seashell and the battered paperback inside the cool metal box. you close it up and push the floorboard back down before you can give yourself the time to stay.

before you're back on the pier with the girl with the wild hair and the heart filled with hope.



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I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't somewhat terrified to be posting fiction on here for the first time. I wasn't planning to even write this to begin with, but it was one of those things that just kind of...spilled out after I decided to try to write a piece based off of the canvas print. I don't typically write in this POV, but I decided to play around with it, and actually....kind of enjoyed it. So who knows, maybe this will be expanded upon one day. :)

I've always loved the song "I Hope You Dance". So, a few weeks ago, when Jennifer over at Photowall offered to send me a free canvas, and I was searching for the perfect saying to print, this image jumped out at me immediately. Photowall is a Swedish brand that specializes in wall murals, photo wallpapers, and canvas prints. I love this canvas so much! It arrived very quickly, and is super cute. I did struggle a bit with figuring out how to put it together, but I'm also not the best at assembling anything, so I'm pretty sure that was just me. The instructional video was really easy to follow, and I loved the finished result! If you're interested in getting a canvas of your own (which you totally should), you can use the code TotallyGracedCampaign2018 for 20% off of your purchase if you order within the next 30 days. :)

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How's your Monday going, friends? I hope that you dance today. ♥

46 comments:

  1. This is just beautiful. Your writing is so lifelike. I honestly thought it was a true story for a moment. Such a beautiful post. <3

    ~Ivie|Ivie Writes

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    1. Wow, thank you so much, Ivie. That means a lot to me. :)

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  2. Wow. That was so beautiful. I totally thought that was a true story from somewhere just because of how vivid the emotions were and the friendship I just understand, even though I don't know them.
    Man, that was beautiful. <3
    -Mikayla-

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    1. Oh my goodness, Mikayla, thank you! This is far too kind.

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  3. I love this! It was so captivating and creative and raw. You are so lovely Grace!

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  4. OH MY GOSH GRACE ANNE. I nearly cried over this beautiful piece of writing. You are such a talented writer. <3 :')

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    1. UGH WELL NOW I'M GOING TO CRY, ELLA. Thank you so much. :')

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  5. You are one talented writer! I LOVED the story!

    (that print is so cute!!)

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    1. Thank you so much, Hanne! I really appreciate that. I am so glad that you liked it!!

      Isn't it adorable?? I love it!

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  6. GRACE. ANNE. JOHNSON. Oh, this made me feel things. You are so freaking talented, and I love how I can see pieces of you in your writing. When your first book comes out, I'll be first in line.

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    1. MARY SHELLEY. 😭😭😭😭 I may just now be responding to this comment, but when it popped up in my email, I almost cried. You mean the world to me and I love you so freaking much.

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  7. Awww man this is lovely <3 I’m sitting outside on a sidewalk waiting for my creative writing class to start, breathing in one of the first warm days of the year, and this was perfect :)

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    1. wow this just made me feel so warm and happy :')

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  8. Ahhh, this was so beautiful and lovely and dear. <33 I love that song too... :D

    Faith || http://fireflysstoryspace.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you so much, Faith! Isn't that song so lovely?

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  9. So pretty girl!! I'm so happy that you shared it. Please do it more!!! <333
    LOL I dance ever Monday and every Friday, Mondays for theater and Fridays for jazz. :D
    xxx

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    1. Thank you so much, Amelia! I just might. :)

      That is so much fun!!! I LOVE theatre dancing.

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  10. Grace you KNOW how much I love this and you and ugh your words are so graceful and pretty what a human you are I'm so lucky I have you

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    1. UGH i love you so freaking much. I am the lucky one. <3

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  11. GRACE!!!!

    I AM ABSOLUTELY BLOWN AWAY. Your writing is so so SO beautiful and I just... UGH FEELS. <333 I would LOVE to read more from you. *hint hint wink wink*

    Also; does anyone else have that one song stuck in their head now that goes "I HOPE YOU DANNNNNCEEEE"? Or is it just me? o.O

    Beautiful, dear. Beautiful.

    xx Kenzie

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    1. OH MY GOSH KENZIE. :''''''') Casually crying over here it's fine. You are too sweet I absolutely cannot handle it.

      AND YES. The week that I wrote this post, that song never left my head. xD

      I love you so so much.

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  12. This was sad and true to life in ways that I wasn't expecting -and also makes me sad, because I don't want it to be true to life- but it was really well done, Grace <3 <3 <3!

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  13. This is gorgeous! So good! Never be afraid to post something you write. <3 <3 <3

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    1. <3 Thank you so much for your encouragement, Kara, I so appreciate it.

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  14. OH MY GOODONESSS!!! Grace, I have little tears and smiles and emotions on my face. It's never to early for amazing writing this will affect my day all day long. I am glad you shared this.

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    1. :'') Oh my goodness, Vanessa, this comment made me smile so much. You are too kind. I am so, so happy that you enjoyed it.

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  15. WHAT JUST HAPPENED.

    Grace Anne, you have a gift within you - something God has given you to share with the world. your words are vivid and real and the kind that transport you and make you forget what room you're in, or that you're hunching over your laptop hanging on every word. your prose are lilting and on the magical side, yet still down to earth and keeping you right there with the character, raising question after question in the readers mind of what's going to happen next.

    keep writing. keep writing. keep writing. trust your work, trust your GIFT, and it will carry you far. I can't wait to see where your many talents take you in life!

    Love you my beautiful friend! Thank you for sharing this beautiful fragment of story *cough*i need to read the rest*cough*

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    1. !!!!!!!!

      KATE

      :')

      I cannot even begin to put into words how much this means to me. Thank you. Thank you for never failing to encourage and believe and love. Coming from you - one of the most incredible writers that I know - this means the world.

      I love you so, so much. <3

      (and hmmm....I might just have to expand on this little bunny now....)

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  16. WOW. WHAT? This was so so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

    Hailey
    www.thehardworkingcreative.com

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    1. Oh my goodness, Hailey!! Thank you so much. :')

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  17. my goodness, what beautiful writing you have! "i hope you dance" - there's so much hope and story in that sentence. it's so scary to share your writing with people, I know. But I'm really, really glad you did. : )

    k.

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    1. Thank you so, so much, Keira. You are such a huge encouragement. :') <3

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  18. GRACE ANNE. OH MY GOSH. This is so beautiful, and so wonderfully you. Love you much <3

    - Char irl :)

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  19. GRACE ANNE <3 Honestly your fiction is so good! This drew me in so much, and I could feel that setting. The beach. The salty air. YOU ARE SO GOOD. <3 Never stop writing, girl. You have an incredible gift :)

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    1. UGH AUTUMN YOU ARE JUST THE BEST. thank you so much :''') <3

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  20. HI GRACE ANNE. I've been following you for a looooong time but never commented *ahem* BUT CAN I JUST START BY SAYING I LOVE THIS SHORT STORY SO MUCH?? I 100% adore it ^.^ you have such talent and gorgeous style, pls post more fiction in the future :D also, I love that pov ;)

    xx lisa

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    1. AWWW LISA HI!!! It is so lovely to meet you! It makes me so happy to know that you've been hanging out over here, wow. :')

      THANK YOU SO MUCH OH MY GOODNESS. you are the absolute sweetest. <3<3 thank you for making my day!

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  21. So I know i'm a little late to this. But I just found your blog and I just want to say that this is beautiful and make me cry. You're so talented!!!

    Lia
    lilahsmusicals.blogspot.com

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    1. Oh my goodness, thank you so much, Lia! I appreciate your kind words so so much. ♥

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