311. Dance Till You Drop
Amy smiles at the young man. Maybe if she dances for him, he'll give her some useful information or help her get past Boswell. “Of course! I'd love to dance for you!”
The man brightens up. She walks over and stands in front of him. She speaks softly to him, treating him with kid gloves. He's so shy and delicate that she's concerned he'll shatter into a million pieces at the first harsh word.
“Now, what kind of dance would you like me to do?”
He smiles sheepishly at her, “Oh, I'm sure whatever dance the music moves you to will be lovely.” He then readies his bow and starts to play.
The music is a slow, stately waltz. Amy isn't much of a dancer, but finds herself swept up in the music. She positions her arms as though they hold an invisible partner, then begins to dance to the three-beat rhythm.
Amy twirls around the room, dancing a large circle around the musician, who never takes his eyes off of her. He stares the whole time, his mouth agape in wonderment.
“I know I can't look THAT good dancing! I've barely even danced before!” Amy says to herself. But as she stops focusing on not screwing up and begins to pay attention to her foot and body movements, she discovers that she actually is dancing very well. “TOO well!” she thinks to herself. She tries to make a misstep and discovers that her feet won't let her. Now worried, she tries to stop dancing altogether, but discovers that her body keeps moving, no longer accepting input from her brain.
“I'm getting a little tired,” she says, feigning nonchalance, “Does this song end soon?”
The delicate man smiles, “Oh, this music need never end!”
Amy starts to panic and tries to think of a way to get out of this situation. “Well, um, I'm getting a little tired of this song... Maybe we could take a break and switch to something else?”
“Oh, no worries, I'll just make this song something more sprightly and tuneful!”
He switches up the tempo of the song while maintaining the same melody. Now it sounds more like a jig. Amy finds her dance speeding up and becoming more vigorous. She spins around and around, growing dizzy.
“Please!” she shouts, “I'm ready to stop dancing!”
“Oh, you're not ready to stop dancing yet!” the man says with a malicious twist to his smile, “I think you've definitely got a few steps left in you!”
The song speeds up, and Amy finds herself moving faster than she has ever moved before, faster than she thought humanly possible. Her motion becomes a blur as her limbs ache and her chest pounds. She hyperventilates, trying desperately to supply her body with enough oxygen to live.
At last, she can take it no more. With a final heave, her heart bursts in her chest and she collapses to the floor, dead.
The young man looks disappointed. “Oh, this always happens. I fear that I am cursed never to meet a woman hearty enough to match me beat-for-beat!” He then slowly fades away while playing a mournful little tune for his lost love, Amy.
Amy is in no condition to continue this adventure or her life.