Unspoken Dreams
Mara sat on the edge of the bed, the weight of her life’s choices compressing her chest until she could hardly breathe. The faded family photo on the dresser—a picture of her with David, both beaming—felt like it was taken in another lifetime.
“Mama! I can’t find my soccer jersey!” David shouted from his room.
“Did you check the laundry room?” Mara called back, her voice more strained than she intended.
“Yeah! It’s not there!”
Mara sighed and pushed herself off the bed. Another thing to add to her endless list of things to do.
She found the jersey crumpled in the back seat of her decade-old car. She’d forgotten to bring it in after yesterday’s game. The game she’d missed because she had to pull a double shift at the diner. Shaking off a layer of self-reproach, she rushed back into the house.
“Found it!” she announced, handing the jersey to David.
He snatched it from her, barely looking up from his phone. “Thanks.”
The word hung awkwardly in the air between them, devoid of real gratitude.
“David, we need to talk,” Mara said, unable to contain herself any longer.
He finally looked up, his eyes meeting hers. “About what?”
“About us, our lives. About how things are going.”
David sighed, rolling his eyes. “Mama, I gotta go. Coach will kill me if I’m late.”
Later that night, Mara sat at the dining table, staring at her laptop. The screen displayed an application form for a creative writing course at a community college. She’d filled in her name and contact details but hesitated at the section that asked for prior experience.
Her eyes darted to a dusty stack of notebooks tucked away on a shelf, each filled with scribbles, poems, and half-formed stories she’d penned over the years. Those notebooks were the last remaining evidence of the writer she once dreamed of becoming. Before David. Before life happened.
Her gaze shifted to another corner of the room where David’s soccer trophies and academic certificates proudly stood. His dreams were taking shape, and she’d move mountains to keep it that way.
Just then, David walked in, his face flushed from practice. “Hey, Mama.”
“Hey,” Mara smiled, quickly minimizing the application on her screen.
“What’s for dinner?” David asked, opening the fridge and scanning its contents.
“It’s spaghetti night.”
“Cool.”
Mara watched him as he poured himself a glass of juice, her mind waging an internal debate. Should she tell him about the writing course? Would he understand? Before she could make up her mind, David broke the silence.
“I got the internship,” he said, almost reluctantly.
“The one at the tech company? That’s wonderful!”
“Yeah,” he mumbled, “but there’s a problem. They need me to start right away, and it’s unpaid. I don’t know how I’ll manage school, soccer, and this.”
Mara’s heart sank. “That’s a lot, David. But it’s an opportunity you can’t pass up. We’ll figure it out.”
David looked unconvinced. “We? You mean you’ll work even more to support this, right?”
Mara felt a sting at his words. “Well, that’s what parents do. We sacrifice for our children.”
“Sacrifice? What about your dreams, Mama? Have you ever sacrificed those?”
The question pierced through Mara like an arrow. Her eyes met David’s, and for a moment, the air thickened with unspoken words and pent-up emotions.
“My dreams?” Mara whispered, her voice tinged with a sadness she couldn’t hide. “You are my dream, David.”
He shook his head. “That’s the problem, Mama. You don’t get it. You don’t understand the importance of having dreams just for yourself.”
As David retreated to his room, Mara sat there, stunned. The walls of the house seemed to close in on her, and her eyes returned to the minimized application form on her laptop.
David was right. She had buried her dreams so deep, she’d almost forgotten they existed. And now, her son, the very person she’d sacrificed those dreams for, was accusing her of not understanding their importance.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She clicked on the application tab, hovering her mouse over the ‘Submit’ button, hesitating.
Her dreams, it seemed, were not just about her. They were becoming a dividing wall between her and the one person she loved most in the world.
Could she dare to dream again? And if she did, what would she stand to lose?
Mara took a deep breath, wrestling with the weight of her life’s choices, as her finger hovered over the mouse, trembling.
Mara stared at the minimized tab for what felt like hours. Her past was whispering in her ear, and the pain from long-buried memories was palpable.
She remembered being that passionate young woman, scribbling away in coffee shops, dreaming of publishing her stories and making a mark in the world.
The doorbell rang, shaking her out of her reverie.
Opening the door, she was met by a face from her past. “Clara? Oh my god! What are you doing here?”
Clara hugged her tightly. “I was in town for a book signing. I had to see you.”
As they sat down, Mara’s gaze shifted to the copy of Clara’s bestselling novel in her hand. They’d once dreamed together of becoming authors, attending the same writing workshops, sharing stories, and giving each other feedback.
“I read about your success, Clara. It’s amazing,” Mara said, a hint of envy evident in her voice.
Clara sipped her tea, her eyes searching Mara’s. “And what about you? Have you been writing?”
Mara hesitated. “Life happened, Clara. Priorities changed.”
Before Clara could respond, David walked into the room. “Hey, who’s this?”
“David, this is Clara, an old friend and a successful author.” Mara introduced.
David raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued. “You never mentioned her before.”
Mara felt a pang of regret. “We lost touch. Life got busy.”
Over dinner, Clara shared tales of her writing journey, the challenges, and the highs of seeing her work appreciated. David listened intently, and Mara noticed the admiration in his eyes.
That night, after Clara left, Mara found David at the dining table, scanning Clara’s book. “You never told me you wanted to be a writer,” he remarked without looking up.
Mara sighed. “There are many things I never told you, David.”
A silence fell between them. The tension from earlier still lingered, but David’s demeanor had softened.
“Why didn’t you pursue it, Mama?” he asked genuinely.
Mara swallowed hard, choosing her words. “After your father left, it was just the two of us. My dreams took a backseat. I wanted to give you a stable life.”
David’s eyes met hers, filled with newfound understanding. “I never realized how much you gave up for me. But, Mama, it’s not too late. Why not start now?”
Mara chuckled. “I’m not sure. I’m out of practice, and I’m not young anymore.”
He placed Clara’s book in her hands. “You see this? This could have been you. It can still be you.”
Tears welled up in Mara’s eyes. “I’m scared, David. What if I fail?”
David hugged her tightly. “Then you fail. But at least you’ll know you tried.”
Over the next few weeks, things began to change. Mara dusted off her old notebooks and began writing again. Late nights were now filled with the sound of tapping keys instead of just the hum of the TV.
David took up the internship and juggled it with school and soccer. Their financial struggles grew with David’s unpaid position and Mara cutting back her hours at the diner to focus on writing. But their bond deepened as they both pursued their dreams.
One evening, as Mara typed away, David sat across from her with his laptop. “Mama, do you remember that story you used to tell me about the boy and the magic feather?”
She smiled, remembering. “Yes, you loved it when you were little.”
“I think that story has potential. We could co-write it, turn it into a novel.”
Mara looked at him, surprised. “Co-write? Are you serious?”
David grinned. “Why not? I have some ideas. It’ll be our project.”
And so, the mother and son embarked on a shared dream, weaving a story that was a blend of their individual voices and shared experiences. The journey wasn’t easy, but it was fulfilling in ways neither had imagined.
As weeks turned into months, Mara and David found themselves deeply engrossed in their shared project. Their dining table transformed into a makeshift workspace, littered with notebooks, sketches, and various drafts of their story. They’d brainstorm late into the night, often debating over plot twists and character arcs.
Yet, as invigorating as the creative process was, life’s challenges didn’t relent. With Mara working fewer hours at the diner, their savings started dwindling. Bills piled up, and the looming threat of eviction became very real.
One evening, after a particularly exhausting day of juggling her job and writing, Mara found an eviction notice on their front door. Panic welled up inside her as she realized they had a month to come up with the overdue rent.
“David,” she called out, trying to mask the tremor in her voice.
He came rushing, taking in the notice. The weight of their reality pressed down on both of them, but he met her gaze firmly. “We’ll figure this out, Mama.”
The following day, David decided to approach his coach with a request to get a paid position at the soccer academy for coaching younger kids. Simultaneously, Mara reached out to old contacts, trying to freelance write for local publications.
Their combined efforts bore fruit. David secured a part-time coaching job, while Mara managed to get a few freelance gigs. Though they were still skating on thin ice financially, their determination kept them moving forward.
During this tumultuous period, Mara stumbled upon a local writing competition with a cash prize. Without telling David, she submitted their co-written story. It was a shot in the dark, but she had to try.
Weeks later, as Mara returned from a tough shift at the diner, she found David waiting for her, an envelope in hand.
“What’s this?” she inquired.
David’s eyes sparkled. “Open it.”
Tearing the envelope open, Mara scanned the letter. Her heart raced as she realized they had not only been shortlisted for the competition but had secured first place. Their story, the tale of a boy and a magic feather, had resonated deeply with the judges.
The prize money was enough to cover their overdue rent and sustain them for a few more months. The recognition, however, was priceless. Mara’s long-abandoned dream was coming alive, and David was right there beside her, sharing in the triumph.
They celebrated that night, laughing and reminiscing about the journey they had undertaken together. It was a testament to their bond and their unwavering belief in each other.
But with every high, there’s often a low. The very next day, David received news that due to his commitments outside of school and soccer, he’d lost his scholarship opportunity for college.
Mara could see the pain in his eyes. “David, I’m so sorry.”
He took a deep breath, trying to hold back tears. “It’s okay, Mama. We have our story, right? We’ll figure things out, like we always do.”
Mara hugged him tightly, her heart heavy with guilt and pride. They had won a battle, but the war was far from over.
The loss of the scholarship weighed heavily on David, but he was determined not to let it break him. Instead, he threw himself even more into their shared writing project, suggesting they expand the story and aim for a full-fledged novel.
Mara, seeing her son’s resilience, felt a renewed sense of purpose. They started reaching out to publishers, sending manuscripts and attending local book readings. They faced a myriad of rejections, but every ‘no’ only fueled their determination further.
One evening, as they were wrapping up a particularly grueling editing session, Mara’s phone buzzed. An email notification from ‘Holloway Publishing House.’ She hesitated, fearing another rejection, but David, ever the optimistic force, urged her to open it.
And there it was – an invitation to meet and discuss a potential publishing deal.
Tears of joy streamed down Mara’s face as she hugged David. This was the break they had been working towards, the glimmer of hope they had clung to.
The meeting with Holloway Publishing House went better than they could’ve ever imagined. Impressed by the depth and uniqueness of their story, the publishers offered them a book deal, with the potential for future collaborations.
With the advance from the publishing house, Mara and David found themselves on more stable ground financially. But more than that, they felt vindicated in their belief in each other and their shared dream.
As the release date of their book approached, David received another piece of unexpected news – an alternative scholarship offer from a smaller, but reputable college. It wasn’t the original plan, but it was a chance at higher education, a future.
At the book launch, as they signed copies and interacted with eager readers, Mara took a moment to reflect. The journey had been riddled with hardships and sacrifices, but it had also been filled with love, growth, and mutual understanding.
In the midst of the celebration, David leaned over, whispering, “Thank you, Mama. For dreaming with me.”
Mara smiled, her eyes glistening. “No, thank you, David. For reminding me that it’s never too late to chase our dreams.”
The story of a single mother and her son became more than just a book. It became a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the power of dreams, and the unbreakable bond between a mother and child.
And as they stood together, basking in the warmth of their shared success, it was evident that their story was just beginning.
