The Hidden Dream [CrWr]

The leaves made soft, rustling sounds. The wind blew softly on her face and played with her blonde hair. As her golden locks flew about her face she realized this was what she had been waiting for, all twenty eight years of her life—to enjoy herself and just watch, as time sails past her. If only this could be real.

"Cut! We have to do this again. Coffee break for now."

The director's interruption brought her back to reality. Her harsh reality—she wasn't the simple girl she got be for several hours these days, being laid-back was no longer part of her busy life, and worse, the wind came from seven large fans around her, the soft hair was fake and the yellow leaves were barely anything apart from died dry paper.

Roll back into time to ten years back, and you could meet the happy Melanie. Youthful, beautiful, enthusiastic, brave, wild, intelligent, and ready to take over the world. She had just graduated from high school, and in the week that followed, finished working on a TV commercial for Walmart. She had an unmistakable talent for acting. It took her less than two years to move on from heading the school drama club to being a known face all-over after appearing on national television. And in another three months the movie industry had taken her away. Forever. Every few months the Orangeway neighborhood buzzed with excitement as their little big star got ready to make another appearance on one of the screens at Studio 16.

It was almost like a fairy tale. Melanie's life had been perfectly smooth and in some ways too good to be true. And it was. It didn't take her too long to realize that she was trapped in the quicksand of the glitzy world. Try to escape, and only be dragged further into it. She knew her only option was to not resist and let things just happen.

Today she had come a long sad way from being excited to being unsatisfied at what life had to offer. She no longer had the time to enjoy the little joys of life that brightened her up when she was younger. It felt more like a previous life than just her past—so beautiful, too distant. If she ever got the time to stop by and admire the beauty of a snowy mountain, a young flower bud, or puppies playing in the dirt, a beep on her cell or her manager's "Much as I hate to interrupt you at this moment, Mr./Ms. ____ is waiting to..." would be sure to interrupt. With every passing day, she felt the strings of time pull her further away from her real self—the free bird.

Everything she had considered 'sins' was part of her life today—monotony, a perpetual irritation, and most of all lack of the freedom that was so dear to her. Shimmering dresses, sparkling diamonds, and the most impressive beaus had started to depress, rather than impress her. She longed for a day when she didn't have to smile at pretentious women and appear to be awfully concerned about their latest adventures or the latest piece of **** they had gotten into; when she didn't have to look her best for every trashy party that maniacs threw; when she didn't have to get up early every morning and be driven to a studio where the crew would pile her up with pounds of makeup, jewelry and instructions.

At times she got so caught up in the rut that she forgot all about what she really wanted from life. It was on one such morning that, unknown to her, her life-altering opportunity came to her. A debutant director wanted to cast her as a preschool teacher who loses her memory in an accident, and the erstwhile 'devilish' kids help her emotionally survive the incident. The story was touching, and she didn't even feel the need to read the entire script or negotiate the money to sign the contract. Within a month, work began and she started visiting preschool teachers and three year olds to discover more about their lives. For the first time in years she could feel her past self coming back to her, beckoning to her! She didn't have the time to acknowledge the feeling, but she felt happier than she ever had. Without wondering why, she continued to work on the movie with all her soul and gave one of her best performances.

On April 29, the day after the movie released, Page Six had all about the first look of Angels In Disguise, with interviews, audience's views and critics' reviews. And there, on the bottom was the news that skeptics still doubt today, months after it was published:

"Melanie decides to quit acting
Takes up job as preschool teacher at Orangeway Preschool, LA"




(29 December 2008)