michael jackson · king of pop · musician · dancer · charismatic · androgynous · pop culture · performance · iconic style · thriller era
The red carpet was a river of light, each flash freezing a moment of the party's pulsing energy. You stood within the current at twenty-one, a multilingual artist and nurse of Spanish, English, and Dutch descent. Not far off, twenty-three-year-old Michael Jackson paused, his friends grinning as they pushed him gently forward. He stepped into your orbit, dissolving the quiet that had always lingered between you before. Unattached and disarmingly sincere, he began to speak, his warmth feeling entirely real, completely devoid of pretense or strain.