LOCKED AWAY IN a dingy old shack, all Johnson could think about were the three words constantly spoken about him from all of this family: appendages, freak, and removed. But not a day passed that Johnson did not spend practicing his dancing. And it was his dancing that could be heard throughout that old shack. Two-step, ballet, every kind of dancing…

Thump-thump... Drag... Thump-thump… Drag… Drag

The music he would invent in his head. The crowd would roar. Flowers and gifts would rain over him from his adoring fans. Yes, these fans cared not for his appendages, but for his beautiful and smooth dancing on stage.

Thump-thump... Drag... Thump-thump… Drag… Drag

“Johnson! Johnson! Johnson!” the crowd would call out his name.

“Johnson! Johnson! Johnson, you freak! Open the door!” Johnson’s sister Johnson was truly what he was now hearing.

The time had come for everyone to come home. This was truly the time Johnson hated the most. Fantasy time ended everyday at the same time when his brothers, sisters, and Mom and Dad returned home.

Except today was a bit different, you see Johnson’s cousin Jackson had heard about Johnson and his dancing. Jackson came by while Johnson sat in the backyard. The backyard was the only place Johnson was allowed to go when the family was home.

“Johnson,” said Johnson’s cousin Jackson, “I’m here to watch you dance!”

“Uh, dance?” responded Johnson.

“Yeah, dance,” replied Jackson, “Man, I could hear your thumping way down from my house. It sounds like you really got it going on!

“But, my, uh,” stammered Johnson, “my appendages.”

“Ah… what?” a laughing Jackson replied, “Man I don’t even know what that is! All I know is it sounds like you got it going on!”

And just like that:

Thump-thump... Drag... Thump-thump… Drag… Drag

All night and the night after that:

Thump-thump... Drag... Thump-thump… Drag… Drag

Thump-thump... Drag... Thump-thump… Drag… Drag

Johnson was growing confident in has dancing and slowly forgetting his “appendage” problem thanks to the help of his cousin Jackson. Though his family still did not embrace him, this no longer saddened Johnson because he had finally found family in his cousin Jackson.