Teanna sat cross-legged by the window, her chin resting on her knees as she watched other children hurry down the block with backpacks bouncing behind them. The laughter from the street floated up, filling her with a quiet ache. Her mother moved quietly in the background, folding laundry and glancing at her with gentle concern.
Teanna pushed her toast around her plate, her eyes lingering on the word “School” circled in blue on the calendar. "Mama, will I ever get to go like the other kids?" Her mother knelt beside her, brushing a stray curl from her cheek, her own eyes shining with love and worry.
Teanna wandered to the park’s edge, clutching a borrowed book to her chest. She watched a group of classmates gather around a teacher reading aloud beneath a sycamore tree. "I wish I could sit with them, just for a day," she murmured, her words barely a whisper among the rustling leaves.
Teanna's mother smiled, determination in her tired eyes. "We may not have much, sweetheart, but I can teach you here. We’ll learn together," she promised. Teanna nodded, her heart swelling with hope as they began to trace letters and numbers, turning the quiet room into a place of discovery.
Teanna lost herself in stories of distant lands and brave girls with dreams as big as hers. "One day, I’ll go to school and learn everything," she whispered to the darkness, her determination as bright as the stars above.
Teanna stood at the window again, her eyes shining as she watched the children below. This time, she smiled, knowing that even if her journey was different, her dreams would find their way forward—one lesson, one story, one hopeful morning at a time.
