A little bit of background is in order. I've been doing Fire dancing as of late and I've been working really hard. It's been fun! And this was my first performance. Well, second if you count that friday night. Olympus Among Us is a greek event that was a lot of fun! and happened the last weekend of June here in Oregon. This is the best story I could have hoped for.

At Olympus Among Us (A greek re-enactment event) I got a total of 3 compliments. And really…Each one of them I will hold dear. All of them were given to me on that Saturday night. I will never forget the first one.

Hard work paid off for me. Some one noticed. A compliment from 2 different ladies at 2 different times was given to me. Each of them said that they loved my whip set. One told me it looked like butterfly wings at several points and that it was so beautiful. The other said I moved gracefully with them and made it look effortless. I nearly cried at both compliments.

However, one DID move me to tears. A little boy, I even remember his name. He came up to me, tugged on my pants after the show and I stopped packing up as his mother stood behind him. I bent down to see what he wanted and he held up two glow bracelets I had passed out during the show. He was only 7. Tiny little guy. Just about 4 inches taller than my own kids.

“What’s your name?” he asked me. He was very quiet and I had to listen closely to hear him. He barely looked at me for a minute before looking back at the bracelets on his wrists.

“Myzeray,” I told him. “What’s your name?”

He told me. Then, he asked me an odd question…”Can I give you a hug?”

My mind had been spinning before that point. Master had had an accident with his duel whips just a little before that and I hadn’t gotten the chance to speak with him to make sure he was OK. But this one question…this one simple request stopped everything in my brain.

“Of course” I replied. I held out my arms, squeezed the boy tight and let go before he did. “You were my favorite!” He started getting animated. I looked up at his mother who was smiling so big. I knew that smile. A knowing happy mother whose child just got what he wanted. She had a sleeping baby in her arms.

I poured all of my attention into him for a few minutes. “The fire was really cool and you gave me a bracelet! See?! Remember? And you gave me one for my brother but he’s too little so I’ll hold it for him till he gets bigger. And does it hurt when you eat fire? Does it taste good?! You dance pretty! I like it when you breathe the fire! You can breathe it far!” He talked so fast I could only giggle for joy.

His mother reminded him that it was bed time and I was sad to see him go. But glad that the tears waited until he couldn’t see them any more.

Before he left he gave me another hug. “Yup! You’re my favorite!”

I was stunned for a moment and must have looked stupid as I stared before stammering out a “Thank you.”

As he walked away I could hear him talking with his Mother. “Mama! She talked to me!”

“I told you she would.”

“She gave me a hug! Her name is Myzeray and she’s awesome!”

The first compliment I received for my fire performance was from a 7 year old little boy whose eyes glowed even in the dim light of one yellow and one green glow stick.

“Can we see her again?”

“I’m sure we will.” His mother said. I was shocked back into work then. The sooner I got things packed up, the sooner I could see if Master was OK.

While getting dressed for roaming I took the time to write it all down in my journal before I forgot the details. The compliment that made Myzeray cry, was from the adoration of a little boy for hard work that finally, finally paid off. This one, I deserved. This one I will cherish forever. My next fire set goes to you kiddo. You did an old woman’s heart and soul good. Thank you.