ZLATA Goddess of flexibility

“Stop doing that! How many times have I told you not to do that? It is not lady-like,” her mother yelled at her. Alesya had heard her mother say things like that ever since she could remember. She loved contorting her body but her mother thought it was not a nice thing for a girl to do. Her mother thought it was ugly and boys thought flexible girls were tramps. Alesya was an only child. Her father had run off with another woman when Alesya was very young. Her mother was very bitter about that and had always taken it out on Alesya. It seemed she could never do anything right. She had no friends and when she was not in school, she would stay in her room dreaming of how things would be when she had a daughter. “I will let her do anything she wants,” she would think. In the privacy of her bedroom, or when her mother was away, Alesya would bend her body as a way of getting away from real life. While her body was fully contorted, she would feel comfortable with herself. She was in full control of herself and her surroundings. They did not have a lot of money. It was a constant struggle just to put food on the table. Alesya was not a pretty girl. She was thin due to missed meals and barely had clothes to wear to school. All the kids made fun of her calling her “a peasant girl”. One day her mother came home from work crying. “We have to move. The landlord is raising the rent and we cannot afford to pay it,” Alesya’s mother said. When she stopped crying, she began yelling at Alesya and slapping her around the living room. “It is all your fault. Because of you, I can’t find a man to support us,” she kept saying repeatedly. Alesya did not know what was happening. She retreated to her bedroom and stayed there for three days. The only thing she did when she was not crying was contort her body. That was the only thing that would ease her pain. The more she bent her body, the more secure she felt about everything. A week later, Alesya’s mother came home telling Alesya to start packing. “I found a place for us to live. It is very small, but it is the best I could find,” she said. Alesya was not sure what was going to happen. They had lived in this apartment ever since she could remember. She became very frightened again as she began putting her things together. Later that night, Alesya’s mother pulled the car into a very dark alley and parked. They walked up the stairs and opened the door to their new home. It was a two-room apartment with a very small bathroom. The first thing Alesya noticed was how dirty the apartment was and how bad it smelled. “I will sleep in the bedroom and you can have the couch,” her mother said gruffly. Alesya was not sure about the whole situation and again became frightened. As she lay on the couch that night, she wondered what was going to happen to her. She placed both feet behind her head making her feel a little more comfortable. Not being able to fall asleep, Alesya lay on her side, folded her back in half and pulled her legs over her head. The next thing she knew her mother was slapping her and yelling at her. “If I have told you once, I have told you a thousand times not to do that with your body. I am going to work. Make sure you clean this place up before I get home”. Alesya began to cry as her mother walked out the door. She was a very sad girl; she had no friends or anybody to talk to and no encouraging prospects for the future. With the move to a new home, she did not even know where she was going to go to school. Alesya lay on the couch, folded her spine in half and tucked her legs tightly over her head. She began to cry again and fell asleep again. Four hours later, Alesya woke up with a start. She unfolded her body and sat up on the couch. As she looked around, she was disgusted with her life. “I am only 16 years old. What am I going to do and what is going to happen to me,” she thought to herself. There was nothing in the apartment to begin the cleaning. Alesya walked down the stairs and sat on the first step. A few minutes later, she heard a woman’s voice. “Hello. What is your name,” she said. Alesya stood up quickly and stepped back. “Alesya,” she said. “I am very glad to meet you. My name is Betty. What are you doing here?” she asked. “I am not sure. My mother and I just moved in upstairs and I have to clean it before she comes back from work. I don’t even have a broom,” Alesya said. “Oh dear, come inside and let me see what I can find so you can do your chores,” Betty said. As Alesya walked thru the back door, Betty could easily see Alesya was a sad little girl. Her clothes looked like she had been wearing them for several days. “Are you hungry?” Betty asked. Alesya said yes. “I have not eaten for two days,” she added. Betty told her to sit at the table while she prepared some food. “Tell me about yourself,” Betty said. Alesya told her there was not much to tell. “I am 16. We had to move because we could not afford the rent. We got here last night. It is just my Mom and me. She works a lot,” Alesya said. “What school do you go to?” Betty asked. “Not sure. I don’t even know where we are,” Alesya said. “Well, this is your new home now. Here eat this and I will find some things we could use to clean your apartment,” Betty said. Alesya devoured the food and asked for more. Betty laughed and served her more. “When you are finished we will go upstairs and see what we could do to clean up your place,” Betty said. Alesya looked up and smiled. She was grateful to have something to eat. As Betty walked into the upstairs apartment, she gasped. “Oh my, we have a lot of work to do here before your mother returns. Here, you begin sweeping and I will attack the bathroom,” Betty told Alesya. They worked very hard for three hours. The place looked so much better. “Well, that is about all we could do today. Come downstairs and I will get you something cool to drink,” she said. As they were sitting at the kitchen table quenching their thirst, a couple of young girls walked in. “Hello Betty! We are a bit early. Is it alright if we practice a little before class?” one of them asked. Alesya looked at Betty with a puzzled face. “Oh, those are a couple of my dance students. Come, I will show you the studio,” she said grasping Alesya’s hand. They walked down a hallway leading to a room that was the dance studio. It was not very large but it had mirrors on one wall and a ballet barred on another. “Do you like to dance, Alesya?” Betty asked. “I don’t know. I have never tried,” she replied. Betty had her sit on a chair in the corner and watch as she began the dance class. Betty owned and operated the dance studio. She used to teach acrobatic dancing when it was popular. “These days, the youngsters only want to learn hip hop. I don’t know anything about that so I hire hip hop dancers to teach the classes,” she told Alesya. What is acrobatic dancing?” Alesya asked. Betty explained to her that acrobatic dancing is similar to jazz dancing but with more flexibility. “Here, I will show you,” she said as she called a girl over to demonstrate. Betty began music and the girl did a series of exaggerated walkovers and splits. To finish the demonstration, the girl did a handstand, lowered her chest to the floor and brought her feet over her head placing her feet next to her head. “Oh, I can do that!” Alesya exclaimed. Betty asked if she was sure. “That’s easy,” Alesya said as she got down on the floor facing downward. She kicked her feet up and brought over her head to the floor. Next, she slid her feet forward until she was sitting firmly on her head. “Oh my, you are extremely flexible, Alesya. Where did you learn how to do that?” Betty asked. “I didn’t learn it. I always could do it. Actually, I love to bend my body,” she replied. “Well, that is so much more than just acrobatics. That is really called contortion,” Betty said. “My mother tells me never to do that. She said it is bad for a girl to bend her body like that,” Alesya said. Betty explained contortion is not bad. “Actually, it is very healthy. It keeps the body fit and trim,” she said. She told Alesya she would talk to her mother about it…To Be Continued