Once upon a time, in the magical city of Paris, there lived a girl. Her name was Flora. Flora loved to dance. It was her favorite thing to do. But Flora was deaf. She could not hear music to dance to. Flora dreamed of dancing one day with the Paris Opera Ballet. She wanted to be a petit rat, as they were called, but day-dreaming would not get her there. Even if Flora was not deaf, she would not be able to afford such a tuition as the Paris Opera Ballet. She lived in a small shop above a bakery, right across the street from the theater. Her father a baker, and her mother a seamstress. They were very poor and made little money, only enough to quiet the rumbling-beast; of which was their stomachs. She spent her days watching the dancers walk back and forth to the Palais Garnier. She imagined what it must be like; to dance, to hear music, to hear joy. But Flora did not let this stop her. She always remembered something. There was a great man in America named George Balanchine. He had said, “See the music, hear the dance.” And that is exactly how Flora kept on loving ballet.

But beauty and joy were not the only things that followed the villagers of Paris that summer. There was evil. Evil that was joy stealing. And like a vengeful ghost back to haunt, it would follow those that were near. It was fire that would catch. It was a mist of fear that would sweep the town off their feet. There were many a-tale of Gargoyles. Gargoyles whose bodies were gone but spirits alive. Forever trapped, their hearts set as stone. There was a sinister one in particular with the name of Coron. Coron hated the dancers. He hated that they were able to do what sparked joy. What sparked joy to him was stealing it from others. Coron had powers. And he had a plan. He had a plan to take away the ballet, once and for all. It would start with destruction. Then it would be fear. And last but not least, he had the greatest plan of them all. He was the epitome of a shows-stopper .

Coron began watching the dancers to get to know their strengths and weaknesses. He learned their names, their rank, what roles they were dancing, what roles they liked, the ones they were most excited for, and which ones they were not. He learned what they were afraid of. Falling onstage? Forgetting the choreography? Becoming injured? He knew it all. But Coron, made a mistake when learning about the dancers. He did not bother to learn about their communities, their homes, friends, neighbors, families. He did not bother to learn about Flora.

Another thing we must learn about Flora is she owns something magical herself. A Music Box Ballerina. Flora did not know the magical influence her box had, for she could not hear it. But watching the doll spin and twirl left her with a sense of hope.

Finally, time for Coron’s first phase of malevolence. Coron and the other Gargoyles began to fly. They used their stone wings as a knight might use his blood-wand crashing into the theater, causing the dancers to flee. Chandeliers began to fall, as if the breaker-of-trees pulled them himself. Curtains were ripped as if by the claws of a dragon. The theater was ruined. The dancers would not be able to perform. They were devastated. Coron was thrilled as he gazed from above as heartbroken faces watched their beloved home collapse to shreds. Flora was confused, and equally as sad. A week after, as the dancers started to become adjusted without the Palais Garnier, Coron was prepared to strike again.

It was time to get into the dancers heads and make them fear. Many woke up with an injured foot or back. Others woke up incredibly clumsy, falling all over themselves. The dancers were afraid. Coron’s plan was working. But there was one last thing to be done. After the dancers were recovered and ready to begin dancing, Coron took away one of their biggests joys, Music! He burned every sheet music as far as the eye can see. He locked up every pianist he could find. He destroyed all instruments in sight. He cursed every music box so that there could be no possible source of sound from anything. The dancers began to weep. Fog began to spread like wildfire. Flora saw what was happening. She had never shown anyone her dancing because she was afraid. She was afraid they would laugh or tell her she could never be a dancer. But she knew what she had to do. With her music box in hand, she stepped into the street. She began dancing. And slowly, one by one, the dancers joined her. She showed them that they did not need music to dance. That they did not need to be afraid to do what they loved. She showed them that they did not need a fancy theatre, or a studio, to dance. They didn’t need costumes or scenery to tell a story. They didn’t need these things. They didn’t even need each other to dance. All they needed was joy. They needed the joy and love that they had for dance in their hearts. The love that makes you do crazy things, because you love it so much. The love that makes you move to anywhere in the world to pursue it. The love that makes you continue to dance even when you have nowhere to do it. That is the only thing you need. The dancers took hands and began to dance. And Coron was losing. He watched in horror as he realized that he could take away so many things in this world, but never the love and joy one can have in one’s heart. And then, the unthinkable happened. Flora turned her head. Everyone stopped dancing. In the distance, beyond the fog, you could hear something. Music. People began to smile. Flora began to cry tears of joy. For the first time in her life, she could hear. She could hear the music. She felt something in her pocket vibrate. Her music box. It began to play. Coron was defeated. Little did he know that there was a curse among the dancers. Flora broke the curse. And with breaking the curse came her ability to hear. It wasn’t Flora’s bravery that made her win. It was her love and resilience that was stronger than the powers of magic. As the fog began to dissipate, Coron and the other Gargoyles slowly began to disappear into it. From then on, the dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet could dance and perform in peace. Because of her acts of bravery and kindness, Flora was awarded a full scholarship to the school, and her dream of becoming a Petit Rat was coming true. Flora fell asleep that night to her music box playing, and dreams of dancing in her head.

The End