I was a figure skater on ice. A well-renowned professional. In my field, I was recognized as The Gazelle. Everyone looked up to me, loved me, adored me. Endowed with talent as well as a schedule which spelled H-E-C-T-I-C, my normal lifestyle eventually evolved into a perfect mess… Just the way I wanted it to be.

As a champion skater, I was compelled to travel from country to country, state to state, for tournaments. As a sports magazine model, I was called up for photo shoots, television interviews, promotions… As a sitcom actress, I needed to grace fans’ day celebrations, have weekly TV appearances.

These are obviously the reasons why, in a lot more ways than one, I was considered as one of the biggest sports-inclined celebrities of all time. Everyone called me, a star. But I knew I better.

I knew how brightly I shined at that time, but unlike a star twinkling endlessly on a dark night, my brightness would not last a million years… And my luminosity underwent its major disintegration right after my accident.

Everything seemed to happen so quickly. First, there was the prelude to the programme, the lights went on, the cheers and applause from the audience escalated when I emerged from the darkness… I then tasted my popularity when my music began.

I started dancing dramatically, emphasizing my movements with my facial expression. I did short but sweet cross-overs and forwards strokes while doing hand gestures with finesse. A dark cloud began to accumulate from behind me to make way for my partner Antoine’s dramatic entrance.

The music gradually faded as we made calculated glides towards each other. They grew more and more intense as he quickened the approach as though he was hungering to cradle my waist around his arms. He stared at me romantically through the dark blue eyes of his and hinted a sign of good luck for a suave performance by winking at me.

The music resumed to a much normal tempo, and we nodded to each other as though we could read each other’s minds. We moved away from each other by back strokes then glided towards one another again, our hands slowly rising up in the air to eventually meet each others fingertips at the middle of the dance floor, only to part once again.

Then the music began to assume a demanding tune… Hard beating drums and clanging cymbals complemented the salchow I was getting ready to execute. Everyone was silent, as if anticipating my maneuver. I took in a breath, performed the jump and voila! I did it. The audience roared.