The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged by Marissa Honeycutt Read Free Book Online

do with this, but his activities showed nothing
suspicious.
    Damn Ian for his betrayal.
    If Anna was hiding, he had to get her to
reveal herself. But how? What could compel to her to come out of
hiding?

Chapter Five
     
     
    Anna leaned her head on the
barre
and gulped for air. She’d never been so tired from practicing
before. Then again, she’d never had so much one-on-one attention
before.
    It was Monday afternoon, and she and Hugo had
been dancing since ten-thirty that morning with a brief break for
lunch. She didn’t know how much more she could take.
    “C’mon, Kittycat. One more time and then
we’ll call it a day.”
    She smiled at the nickname he’d come up with
for her. If nothing else, her new name certainly allowed for
interesting variations. A new experience indeed.
    Hugo handed her a towel to wipe her face.
“You’re doing fantastic, Katrina. Don't give up.”
    Anna gave him a doubtful look as she patted
her face. “I don’t understand how you move so fast. I don’t think
my body was made for that.”
    He gave her that brilliant grin of his.
“You’d be surprised. You’ll get it. We have all week.” His eyes
glinted with humor.
    “A week, huh?” She couldn’t help but grin
back. His smiles were contagious. “All right.” She groaned as she
straightened.
    “After we’re done, I’ll buy you dinner. How
does that sound?”
    Anna gave him a shy smile. “Okay.”
    He chuckled and walked to the front of the
room and nodded to the pianist. The music began and Anna danced.
She hoped it would soon become as exhilarating as it seemed it
should be.
*****
    By Saturday afternoon, Anna was feeling more
confident in her dancing. Something had clicked that morning and
she finally “got it.” Hugo cheered as she finished the dance.
    “That was...amazing, Katrina. Truly amazing.”
He came to stand in front of her with a huge smile on his dark
face. “Good job,” he said in a softer tone. “I knew you could do
it, Kittycat.” His eyes glowed as he looked at her.
    Anna gazed up into his topaz eyes and her
heart fluttered. They had spent hours and hours and hours together
this week, and she had grown quite fond of him. She smiled shyly
and turned to get her water bottle but he grabbed her hand.
    “Dance with me,” he said, his voice low. He
looked at Suzie, the pianist. “Giselle, second act.”
    Anna shook her head. “No, I can't....” She
had spent all week trying to immerse herself into Katrina and that
dance was too much a part of Anna. She was afraid of slipping
back.
    The music started and she stood with her eyes
closed. It swirled around her like a silk ribbon and she was
powerless to resist. Her body moved of its own accord, her eyes
still closed, remembering. She danced for Alex. She mourned for him
through her dance, as if dancing could somehow heal the wound his
death had left. She and Hugo danced as one and he lifted her
effortlessly and supported her with his strong hands.
    When the music ended, she opened her eyes and
realized she had danced the entire thing with her eyes closed.
Tears burned her eyes and she turned away so Hugo wouldn’t see.
    “Who was he?” he asked softly, holding her
hand to keep her from walking away.
    She turned back to him, surprised. “Who was
who?”
    “The one you danced for. I could...feel your
emotions. You were mourning.” He shook his head. “I’ve never seen
anyone dance like you do, Katrina.”
    He watched her expectantly as she wiped her
eyes. “My husband,” she said softly. “Alex. He died four years
ago…almost
exactly
four years ago.” It was the beginning
of April. Almost to the day when Wilhelm came to tell her that Alex
was gone.
    “You must have married very young.”
    “I was twenty.” She looked down at her ring
and shook her head. “We weren’t even married three months when he
died. I keep asking myself why I still wear my wedding ring.” She
felt kind of silly still wearing the ring, but she couldn’t bring
herself