"But of course!" She hugs her from behind, then starts massaging her sho-

"No, stop."

"I'm fragile, can you hold me?"

She hugs her tighter, being as still as possible.

"I had a dream, I was among many chairs, many people, it was warm, bright lights until there weren't."

"Oooh, where were you?"

"No."

"Stop."

"I'm fragile, hold me."

"It was a theater, there was loud music, and a girl dancing. She danced her suffering and tension and contradictions. She was wearing a suit. It felt right on her."

"I didn't know you could dance an emotion, but I could feel it as if she had told me."

"Then there was a crowd, they were all dressed the same, they were all    completely    different people. I knew some of them. They looked different."

"There was a voice talking about invisible walls, and all the girls where hitting them, sometimes in the shape of a sudden arm, sometimes just frozen for a moment by something no one else could see. It seemed so absolute."

"But for every wall, every tension, there was a release, breathing out and walking on. I wonder what walls they were thinking about, what did they feel blocking them."

"It was nice to see the familiar faces betwixt the crowd, but they all seemed transfixed, poured in their movement and the rhythm of the voice guiding them."

"Then they all melted, as if the floor had roots binding their feet and hands."

"It was just a moment, something heavy tying them down."

"A circle, walking and walking and never changing because you're just retracing the same steps. In the middle, some of them with repetitive motions, done with care."

"Like a flower closes and opens its petals, the people in the center change. The infinite grind of the circle doesn't stop, but now there's more faces I know in the middle. They seem more confident. They're so very themselves, and I love them all, but there's something heavy in them. All the people on the stage are talking about something they share."

"Well, they're not talking. But they might as well be doing so, they're talking so loudly without speaking a word. It's so beautiful."

"The voice from before is now many voices. I think it's their voices, they speak emotions and wishes."

"They line in rows, they bow, have they told their story?"

"No, the voices continue, as they move as one."

"Is that person breaking the rhythm? She's grabbing her shirt and -"

"She sheds her shirt, she looks so vulnerable, she looks so secure. Her eyes are asking if it's ok, if it's permitted."

"I think it is, I think she's being brave, being the first."

"More people shed their barriers, and they feel so delicate, I want to hold them and protect them, but I don't think they need my protection, I think they found strength within themselves."

"When the music ends some are in their underwear, I'm happy they're comfortable. Some still fully clothed, I'm happy their choice is free. Many in between."

"I think it's the first time I've see the sun without a smile on her face."

"I send the Maître a message."

Hard like granite, vulnerable like crystal, on the stage with heart in hand.