Chapter 6— Storyteller

There she was reminiscing on how life had brought her to the present day. Secrets of the Concrete Life was almost ready to be published to the world, never in her wildest dreams she believed she could write poetry, but there she was about to publish a chapbook.

Not many years ago, she was still in school and teachers would compliment her stories, as well as call her out during class to stop writing them and pay attention to them. Back when she used to write in Portuguese, until her History teacher threatened reading it out loud to class what she had been writing; a long love story between her and the boy of her dreams. It was embarrassing and unacceptable, so naturally, living in a country where most don’t speak English she changed, more then just the language in which she wrote, but her heart and soul. To this day, there wasn’t a sweeter moment than the second time the same teacher threatened her, and she smile: “it’s in English. You can’t read it.”

She was sent to the office.

This one was from high school when I broke my foot and couldn’t go up and down the stairs for a month, but was happy to miss class to read and listen to music.

Always a rebel, always a fighter, always dancing to the song playing in her heart. She danced day and night, and deafening silence surrendered her. Some called her crazy, even her father didn’t believe she could get very far in life by telling stories. She gave up a couple of times, as a child and a teenager adults can be the greatest blackholes, sucking the bright light of the dreams youngster have. But she came back, when her life turned to ashes, she had nothing but her words and they guided her to a safe port.

Now she faced a great new experience, to be published, to make some pocket change like money from the most secretive part of herself. Imagine how she must feel everyday? The reality comes knocking on her door: “You are just a nobody, in a sea of other talented writers, who have money to promote their work or agents, publishers, editors, while you have nothing. You’re awesome diving straight in, head first, betting all your chips on yourself! Can you do that, sweetheart?”

She doesn’t know.

But soon, she’ll find out.