A Hidden Passion SOLO Finished

august 3rd 2022, a solo story

At eleven years old, there were a lot of things Alyssea could become. She could do musical theatre and go into acting for the rest of her life. She could become a historian purely out of love for the subject. She could become a witch and attend a magic school just like the rest of her family.

Somehow, she managed to achieve one of them at eleven years old.

For now, she wasn’t worried about becoming a witch. Her brother had come home for the summer break and he’d be leaving in a few weeks back to America. For now, she wanted to make memories while he was still here.

One of the ideas he had for good memories was ice skating. Alyssea wasn’t exactly sure how he came to the conclusion, considering he never talked about it. Still, their parents were enthusiastic about the idea and planned it for today.

So here they are, in Plymouth Pavillions, and Alyssea’s getting her skates on.

They were blue and scratched plastic ones meant for visitors which suited Alyssea’s case. This was her first time skating and, depending on how this went, it may be her last.

Surprisingly, standing on the ground with the skates on didn’t feel like she was on a new planet. Anton took her hand as they slowly got onto the ice. With a few screams and light-hearted laughs, Alyssea stood on her own by the wall and watched as her brother set off to the other end.

How was he doing this? Somehow, he must’ve gone to a rink in America and started lessons because he was confident in every glide he took. Alyssea looked around and observed how people were moving on the ice.

Her dad arrived and laughed as he almost slipped onto his back. “How are you, love?”

Alyssea shook her head. “I don’t know how to skate.”

“It’s alright,” he said, “I haven’t skated in a while.”

Her dad got up from the wall and positioned himself beside Alyssea. “Face that way and bend your knees a little bit.”

Alyssea followed suit and, with a few hip thrusts in the right direction, she bent her knees and looked at her dad.

He offered her a smile. “Good. Now, if you ever feel like you’re going to fall, just hold onto your knees.” He slapped his knees to exaggerate the movement and Alyssea laughed. Okay, this didn’t seem too bad.

“Then, you’re going to turn your foot to the side and—” With a grunt, her dad set off and pushed himself forward against the ice. Alyssea slowly turned the blade and gave a gentle nudge.

In the process, she locked her other knee straight and a cry came from her lips as she waved her arms about. In the haze of panic, she heard her father yell out, “Grab onto your knees!” before she fell to the ice.

Falling on ice was probably the worst thing to happen that day, but her dad only laughed as the air got knocked out of her lungs. She bit her tongue. How was he doing this without falling?

Her brother joined them at the wall and tapped Alyssea on the shoulder. “You okay? Let’s get you up.”

After a bit of direction (that she couldn’t follow) and wet pants, Alyssea got back onto her skates and sighed. She hated this. Why did she agree to this? It’s time to go home because this just hurts.

“So,” Anton began, “What you’re going to do is turn, right, and push. The other foot is gonna do that not long after you first push. You just have to keep moving, okay?”

Alyssea nodded. Most of the instructions flew over her head, but she tried again. Turn, push, turn, push, turn, push. She held onto the wall. Every time she felt as if she was going to fall, she clutched the wall as if her life depended on it.

The entire time, her brother stayed by her side as he gave her small compliments the longer she was on the ice. The small praises gave her little boosts of energy each time with a few light-hearted laughs. She fell a few more times, but she laughed them off and figured out her way back onto her feet.

Turn, push, turn, push, turn, push. She listened to the music to time her movements. Turn, push, turn, push, turn, push.

By the time she ended back at the entrance they came from, Alyssea quickly departed from the rink. Her feet hurt so bad. Did ice skating always hurt this much?

Somehow, Anton kept going for another lap. She watched as he glided effortlessly, but then another skater caught her eye.

They were in the middle of the entire rink. Alyssea watched as they spun backwards and launched into the air for a spin. Her jaw dropped. What was that? The skater landed on the ice in a pose before resetting back into a relaxed stance. How could they do that?

Alyssea never went back onto the rink to try another lap, but she left remembering that skater.

It would not be the last time she came back here.