Mrs. Collins's offer all felt like a dream but it was no longer a fleeting unattainable dream it was real. Alyssa started to run not out of fear not to escape but because she wanted to get home right away to tell her mom to share with her something she had never imagined would happen in her life each step brought her closer to the small apartment where she and her mom lived her old shoes made soft thuds on the pavement but she didn't mind she ran past familiar streets small grocery shops where her mom often bought food after her shift Alyssa she had walked through every day never imagining she could actually escape this world and reach her dream and then when the apartment door appeared before her when her hand touched the door knob tears welled up in her eyes but these weren't tears of pain not tears of despair but tears of hope the door opened and standing right before her was her mother, Monica Carter with tired eyes yet always gentle with a few strands of silver in her hair but still radiating the warmth of unconditional love she was still in her nurse's uniform proof that she had just finished her shift but when she saw her daughter standing there eyes red breath still ragged from running a long distance worry immediately appeared on her face "Alyssa, what happened, sweetheart?" unable to hold back any longer Alyssa threw herself into her mother's embrace the familiar warmth enveloping her and in that moment she knew she had truly done it she had broken down the invisible wall that had imprisoned her for so many years she had proven to the world and more importantly to herself that she was worthy she had made them listen to her her voice trembled as she spoke the first words. "Mom, I played, and they listened to me." Monica pulled back a little placing both hands on her daughter's cheeks her gaze full of love but also full of questions.
"Tell me, sweetheart. What happened?" Alyssa took a deep breath trying to collect her thoughts amidst the emotional wave she began to tell her about how Mr. Grayson had mocked her about the expectant looks waiting for her to fail about how she had almost given up but then remembered her mom's words and decided to stand up place her hand on the keys and play she told her about how the whole class fell silent about how Madison lost her smugness about how Mr. Grayson was flustered and couldn't deny the truth and finally she told her about Mrs. Collins about the music scholarship offer a door that Alyssa had never thought would open before her. Each word she spoke was like a small flame warming Monica's heart She listened, said nothing just silently held her daughter's hand as if wanting to preserve this moment forever. Then when Alyssa stopped when the last of her tears fell but were no longer of sorrow, Monica gently stroked her daughter's hair and in a soft but firm voice she said, "You've always been enough, sweetheart.
You just needed to believe that." Alyssa stood still she had heard her mother's encouraging words many times before but today hearing those words again they carried a whole new meaning. Before, she always thought her mother said that just to comfort her she had always believed her mom just wanted her to not give up on her dreams even when the world outside had decided she wasn't good enough. But today she realized something important her mom had never doubted her her mom had never seen her dream as a mere fantasy. Her mom had never thought she wasn't capable.