Concert Queen

At the backstage, I could hear the clamor of the crowd. It reverberates a hundred times inside the stadium. It made me unable to comprehend what they had been saying. However, for the first time in my life, I was not afraid to face them – those multitude of people that kept on screaming. My legs didn’t quiver. My hands didn’t shake. Though my heart throbbed fast and loud – that I felt it’s likely to detonate – it was neither because of fear nor nervousness. Instead, it was because of excitement and extreme gladness. Excited to take the center stage. Glad that, at last, I had something to be proud of.

The emcee called out my name to own the stage. But before I did the crowd’s request, I breathed as deep as I can. “I will make the best performance of my life.” I whispered to myself. When the curtain opens, the cheer of the crowd became more audible. I heard them shouted my name repeatedly like a chant. I walked snappily but humbly straight to the center stage. I waved my hand before them and it stimulated the crowd to make louder screams.

I tightened my hold onto the microphone, readied myself to speak. But before I spoke I looked at my audience. In the front row of seats sat my family – my *nanay, my **tatay and my sisters. In their eyes, I could see their pride that had me long to achieve. “Tonight they will be the proudest persons in the world.” Around my family sat my aunts, uncles and cousins. I could also see my friends. All of them were smiling back at me.

I drew my microphone near my mouth. As if a sign to keep the people kept quite, the noise stopped. They listened attentively as I greeted my friends, relatives and my family. I thanked them for their presence and support. The people inside the stadium gave them a round of applause – seemed that they understood the vital role theses people played while I achieved what I am now.

In my cue, the music started playing. Then I sang and danced at the same time. As I performed the people sang my songs and mimicked my dance steps. Watching them doing those filled my heart with glee.

I performed six song-and-dance numbers. For my last performance, I sang a mellow song. The what I called “the soundtrack of my life. A song that was originally popularized by Mariah Carrey.

…They can say anything they want to say
Try to bring me down
But I will not allow anyone
To succeed
Falling clouds over me…

At last! I finished the song and as I was ready to make my final bow my older sister stood up from her seat and shouted, “YyiiisSSsShhiiiiii!!!!!!!Haven’t you taken a bath long enough? Hurry up! We have to rush. The school bus will be here in five minutes!”

Suddenly like a magic spell losing its power, the stadium became smaller and narrower. It turned into a bathroom! The clamor turned into a sound of gushing water from the faucet. The microphone turned into a shampoo bottle and the red curtain changed into yellow shower curtain. Everything, even the crowd, vanished little by little but not the music. It remained and I could still hear it from my neighbor’s house.

I was back in reality. And in reality, I was an Average Joe – an ordinary person. So ordinary, that one wouldn’t notice me even if they bumped onto me. It didn’t mean that I didn’t love myself this way. Its just that I wished to conquer my fear to face people; specially those who also knew my sister. I wish to be “somebody” with a unique identity, not “someone” who was constantly compared to her sister.


*nanay – Tagalog/ Filipino term for mother
**tatay - Tagalog/ Filipino term for father

RELATED POST