NEVILLE was a happy-go-lucky man. His one and only mission in life was to enjoy it as much as he could. His favourite pasttime was dancing. Any dance, any place and he was there. He had one interest in dance. He loved to waltz. He was known as the Waltz King aka known as `Floater’. This was due to his skill at seamless waltzing.

Whenever he entered a dance, many people stopped dancing just to admire him at work. He would cover an entire dance floor – from corner to corner – in one song. Many young ladies vied to get his attention. The only ones who did were those who could handle themselves on the dance floor.

Neville moved from village to village according to where the dance was being held. Once he went into the countryside to attend a big village dance. His reputation preceded him. When he entered the dancehall he saw many people looking at him with admiration and awe.
And when the DJ started to play ‘Oldies’ he swung into action. After earlier scouting the ladies, he knew which ones were good enough to keep up with him. He didn’t want to end up like his best friend. You see, he and Cedric had gone to a dance together. They were friendly rivals and always tried to out-do each other. He took his time to choose his partner but Cedric grabbed the first one that came to hand.

They both moved out on the dance floor. He started swooping and floating while Cedric was fighting and struggling. In his recklessness, his friend had grabbed the worst dancer and was paying dearly for his recklessness. The woman fought him all the way. When he could take it no longer he tried to disengage and withdraw. But she would have none of it. She did not want to be abandoned in the middle of the dancehall. They suffered this way and that until at last it ended with both of them falling flat in the middle of the floor.

People roared with laughter and they both beat a hasty retreat. Cedric stopped dancing after that.
When Neville started dancing he did not stop until the music changed or the dance ended. He went from one woman to another. His pool was small because some of the better dancers were already taken. Some of the few he danced with stopped out of exhaustion. Then he came upon a beautiful foreigner and decided to try her out.

She was white, petite and beautiful. As soon as he swung her onto the floor he knew she was the number-one dancer. She was light as a feather in his arms and they floated on into the morning never seeming to tire. As they swept across the floor he made his move.

“You are a wonderful dancer. I love dancing with you.”
“Thanks. You are a good dancer too,” he returned the compliment.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“They call me ‘Floater’ or ‘The Waltz King’!”
“Oh, you are the Waltz King? I always wanted to meet you.”
“Why is that?”
“I wanted to prove that I was better,” she replied laughing.
“You are a great dancer for a lady.”

“Who taught you to dance?” she enquired.
“My father, I would stand on his feet and he would spin me all over the floor. After that, I knew I would be the best dancer ever. Who taught you to dance?” he enquired.
“My mother. She is a much better dancer than I.”
“I would love to dance with her,” he ventured.
“Really?” she murmured. “She’ll be here shortly.”
The music stopped and he realised that the dance had ended. Just then another beautiful white woman entered the dance.

“Nice to meet you,” she said, flashing a bright smile.
“Sorry, you arrived late. Let me walk you both home.”
They left the dancehall and headed towards the back of the village. They chatted as they walked.
“We live just around the corner, turn on your left opposite the playfield.”
When they came around the corner, a number of things occurred. Music was blaring from a home next to the playfield.
“Want to dance Waltz King?” the mother asked.

But the Waltz King had other things on his mind. He noticed that the playfield had one thing opposite it, the cemetery.
“You tell me dat yo living in de cemetery?” he tried to crack a weak joke.
Both were ‘dead’ serious.
“We both do.”
Neville began to feel like a big-time floater. His head felt light, his tummy griped and his body shook.

“Come on let’s dance Waltz King!”
She soon realised that she was speaking to thin air.
The floater was gone. Some say he ran, others said he did a speedy moonwalk.
But the reality was that he had vanished.