00:00I've been dancing bachata for years.
00:02You learn to trust.
00:04Buddies.
00:04The subtle shift of weight.
00:06The rhythm of breath.
00:07The timing.
00:09Especially in shadow position.
00:10It's when the faller has her back against my chest.
00:13My hands guiding her.
00:14Our steps overlapping.
00:16It's intimate, but controlled.
00:18Or at least, it's supposed to be.
00:20She was new to the studio.
00:23Quiet.
00:24Focused.
00:25Almost too.
00:28Still, when she wasn't moving,
00:30I don't think she ever told me her name.
00:32And I don't remember her introducing herself.
00:35The first song started.
00:36Slow.
00:37With minimal percussion.
00:39Our feet moved in perfect sync.
00:41Almost too perfect.
00:43I could feel her breathing even.
00:45Shallow.
00:46Not nervous.
00:48Just aware.
00:49We moved as one body through turns.
00:52Slides.
00:53And pauses.
00:54When I stopped, she stopped.
00:57When I leaned, she leaned.
00:59No resistance.
01:01No hesitation.
01:02That's when I noticed the mirror.
01:03The huge floor-two ceiling glass on the studio wall.
01:07Our reflection stared back at us.
01:09Me.
01:10Her.
01:11And the shadows beneath our feet.
01:13My shadow followed me perfectly.
01:15Huss didn't.
01:17It lagged a half-second behind.
01:19Then quickly corrected itself.
01:21I told myself it was just the lighting.
01:23The angle.
01:24Or maybe I was just tired.
01:26The music continued.
01:27And we stepped back into motion.
01:29This time, her shadow moved first.
01:31Who's slightly leading instead of following?
01:34My hands tightened on her.
01:35But she didn't react.
01:37Her body stayed perfectly synced with mine.
01:40But the shadow.
01:41It was wrong.
01:42It twisted.
01:44Bent.
01:44Awkwardly.
01:45Its arms stretched longer than hers.
01:47Its head tilted at an angle she wasn't making.
01:50I glanced down.
01:51Her feet were exactly where they should be.
01:54I looked back up at the mirror.
01:55Her shadow was now dancing alone.
01:58It wasn't by chatter.
01:59It was something erratic.
02:01Sharp.
02:02Almost violent.
02:03I broke the hold and stepped away.
02:05She just stood there.
02:07Erbok told me the music ended.
02:09Silence filled the room.
02:10Then the chatter and laughter of other couples resetting for the next song.
02:14No one seemed to notice.
02:16I checked the mirror again.
02:18Her shadow was gone.
02:20Just mine.
02:21Standing a little too close to her.
02:23I asked if she was okay.
02:25She just nodded.
02:26Didn't speak.
02:27Didn't even blink.
02:29The instructor called for partners to rotate.
02:31She didn't move.
02:34I stepped back.
02:35And someone else took her place.
02:37I watched from the corner as she danced again.
02:40With the same precision.
02:42The same unsettling calm.
02:44But with a different partner.
02:46I looked in the mirror.
02:48Her shadow was back.
02:49And it was still wrong Batiste's time.
02:51It was watching me.
02:53Not dancing.
02:54Just facing the glass.
02:56Facing me.
02:57I left early that night.
02:59I didn't say goodbye to anyone.
03:01At home.
03:02I tried to rationalize it.
03:04Lighting.
03:05Stress.
03:06My imagination running wild.
03:08The next class.
03:10She wasn't there.
03:11No one remembered her.
03:12There was no record of her signing in.
03:14No membership under a new name.
03:16The instructor said no new students had joined that week.
03:19I stopped dancing in shadow position.
03:22After that monce passet.
03:23I almost forgot the whole thing.
03:25Until one night.
03:26I was practicing alone in the empty studio.
03:29Lights down low.
03:29I was moving through the steps out of habit when I caught my reflection in the mirror.
03:34My shadow followed me.
03:35As it should.
03:36And then.
03:38Another shadow appeared behind it.
03:40His hands were at my waist.
03:41A phantom breath where hers used to be.
03:44I froze.
03:46Completely.
03:47My shadow didn't it leaned bike into arms that weren't there.
03:50And started dancing.
03:51And started dancing.
03:51I was ANDREASING.
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