THE UNSEEN FLAME

Chapter three

At thirteen,Tania signed up for the school talent show.She'd taught herself guitar.She secretly trained on an old broken guitar that belonged to her late grandfather.Her fingers had calloused from her secret practice.On stage,the amp buzzed,her voice cracked and the crowd laughed."Loser,"the crowd shouted."Stick to the shadows,"another boy added.She did.

Derrick got a scholarship.This was good news to everyone, Tania was happiest.Her hell and suffering had come to an end.Despite being traumatized,the devil was getting further away from her.One of her cousin sisters won beauty pageants.Her other cousins won trophies in sports.Tania got quiet nods and leftovers."You'll never pull through,"one of her teachers mentioned."You'll find your place,"her father mentioned once,when he visited.She wondered if he even believed it.She had convinced herself that she'd never be good enough,she was a loser with no hope in sight.

Her long elementary school hell had also come to an end.She felt happy that she was changing environment."Maybe it'll get clearer in high school,"she said to herself.High school was a battlefield.She applied for the art club."Your style is too messy,"the president said flipping through her sketches.She stopped drawing after that, burying her pencils in the drawer.

But something flickered.Alone in her room,Tania found an old notebook and started writing,stories of girls like her, rejected, fierce and strong hearted.Words became her rebellion,her silent roar against the world.At eighteen,Tania left her granny's,no one threw her a goodbye party.With a suitcase and only $50,Tania moved to the city that thrummed with possibility.She was sure she'd work her way out to the top.She applied for odd jobs,-waitress,cashier-writing in stolen moments.

One fateful day,her mother stopped by her work place.Tania was always sure that no one could track her down,no one would know where she was hustling for survival and here was her mother.Her mother rang a bell,one of those that are put on tables to summon waitresses and Tania was up to serve this customer.Tania was dumbfounded when she came face to face with her mother,one she had taken forever without seeing.Filled with anger from all the years,Tania looked at her mother without saying a word."What do you want,"Tania roared."Didn't your granny raise you right?,Is that the way you greet your elders?,"her mother retorted back.

"We need to talk,Liaison Street030,8:00pm.Dare to be late,"her mother said as she stormed out of the restaurant.Tania felt so very angry and embarrassed in front of her workmates.She couldn't help but cry.David,the manager saw this and he asked Tania to take the rest of the day off.This was one of the few times Tania ever felt favoured her whole life.When she got home,she cried herself to sleep.She had many questions running in her head,each of which didn't have an answer.She woke up at 11:00pm in the night.She had missed the appointment with her mother."Am doomed,"her heart skipped a beat as she looked at her wall clock.She didn't know what else she could do."Let the fire come, I'll definitely put it out,"she tried to comfort herself in vain.Her heart pounded heavily against her heart.She was so scared of this woman.