Passers-by ignored his outstretched hand begging for money and some food. Isabella would have done the same if he had not addressed her in a surprisingly clear and powerful voice:
“Pray, sweet child, can you spare a few coins or a morsel of food?”
Surprised as she was, Isabella was not shaken from being spoken to on the street late at night. In fact, she felt perfectly safe. As her heart began to glow, she placed her right hand on her heart and looked deep into the man’s dark eyes. It was then that she noticed how they sparkled like stars in a desert sky. Before her mind’s eye, appeared images of Arabia in times long gone by.
“Yes, I can, sir,” she replied, reaching into her bag for the leftover lasagne that her employer had given to her.
A warm and grateful smile appeared on the man’s face as he held out both hands to receive the meal that was still warm. He had not had a decent meal in weeks.

Khalil then got to his feet in a startingly nimble way and held out his hands to Isabella with such a compassionate look in his eyes, that Isabella readily placed her hands in his.
“Well then, tell me Isabella, what is the cause of your troubled mind?”
Isabella sighed and thought for a moment whether she should tell this stranger about what was troubling her. Then she looked into his eyes again. It felt as if the whole universe was holding its breath in expectation of what she was about to say. So, she told Khalil in great detail about how her dream of becoming a successful ballet dancer had led her to New York. She also told him that she was a member of an amateur ballet society and that she jumped at every opportunity to audition for ballet companies, but that up until now, no one had been so enthusiastic as to hire her. It was this that made her feel so downhearted.

“Thank you very much, Khalil,” she said dewy-eyed. “I barely know you, but already I feel as if I have found a friend.”
“Friendship comes in many forms, my dear,” Khalil replied, “and regardless of the form, if it is true friendship, it will endure the test of time.”
“Then I shall find you again one day, my friend.”
“Yes, you shall. Maybe sooner than you expect.”
Khalil then bowed by way of reverence and gently touched both of her hands with his lips.
“Goodbye, sweet Isabella. May your dreams be blessed by their manifestation.”
“Goodbye, Khalil,” Isabella replied.
She then turned around and continued on her way home. Just before she turned the corner, she looked over her shoulder for one last glance at her newly found friend, but to her surprise, he had vanished.

“Purr, purr…”
Isabella was woken early the next morning by her cat Nuri, who she had admiringly named after the ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Nuri was softly pawing her nose, as if to say that she had to get up and give him his breakfast.
“Good morning, Nuri,” Isabella yawned as she put her arm around him and kissed him affectionately all over his head.

She then looked up to see the gentle rays of spring sunlight shining through the opening between the curtains. Last night had brought some early spring snowfall, but those welcome sunrays, together with last night’s dream and her encounter with Khalil put a joyous smile on her face. Then she remembered what day it was.
“Oh, Nuri,” she cried as she sat upright, “today’s the day!”
Nuri did not understand what she meant, but was glad that she was finally getting out of bed. Today was Saturday, and this evening, she would take part in the premiere of a ballet performance that her ballet society was staging, inspired by the Earth Wind & Fire song ‘Fantasy’.

In doing so, she forgot everything for a while and did not pay attention to her surroundings, until a flash of bright red caught her eye. It made her slam on the brakes and come to a sudden halt. There she stood face to face with a robin that sat on a flowering cherry tree twig no more than two metres away. Straight away, she sensed it was trying to tell her something. There and then, in the middle of the footpath, she closed her eyes and tuned into the robin.

“Let go of the past and move forward unhesitatingly and with great confidence,” a voice that sounded very much like her own said. “Remember the power of your voice. Express out loud that which you desire, and it shall appear before you.”
When the voice stopped speaking, Isabella opened her eyes and smiled.
“Thank you, robin.”
From its chirping sound, Isabella took it that the robin understood her. She got on her bike again and continued on her way to the theatre, only this time she spoke out loud, over and over again:
“I am a successful ballet dancer, dancing to the delight of people all over the world.”

Quotes:
Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair –