new day will come

This week our Blog Post is a short story written by one of our newest Program Associates, Lilia.

She closed her eyes and the whole day floated before her mind: heat, sun, sweat, child on her back and hands holding out coins in exchange for sachet water. Water was streaming down her spine mixing with perspiration. She earned a bit to appease her hunger, nothing to save for bad days, bought some bread for breakfast right away and headed home. She fought to enter the bus, she even stepped on someone’s foot in a crowd, not deliberately though. The drive home took an eternity but her child didn’t cry, exhausted by the torrid day. And here she is, finally lying on her mat in stuffy darkness; fan is buzzing above her head creating much noise and pathetic illusion of freshness. A mosquito is chirping here, there and it seems everywhere and already her foot is itchy but she doesn’t have strength to pay attention to this. She fell asleep and found herself in a spacious and light classroom, with real windows with glass and a glossy board. There was even light and she was reading aloud, letters and lines merged to become words and words became confident voice. It had been her dear dream to study in school, to wear neat and well ironed uniform and bright backpack with books. But the fowls started to yell to announce that the new day has come. She will be watching children in uniform, somewhere patched and fouled, making fun; she will be dreaming that one day her child too will proudly go to school with a backpack in immaculate school uniform.