CHAPTER ONE: LEAVING PINE HILLS

It was a small town, a village called Pine Hill. Maya and her family lived there. Her parents owned a small restaurant where they prepared and sold different local dishes. This was the only way her parents could put food on their table. To attract more customers, Maya would go outside her parents' shop to sing. She had the voice of an angel, she also had captivating facial features which attracted the customers the most.

She was the second daughter of the Hunts family. She always acted like she was the first because she puts the needs of her family first, before hers. She did not complete her formal education because her parents were not able to continue to pay her fees. So she dropped out.

To get money, she'd always clean people's houses. She kept on doing that till she saved enough to leave the village. One day, as she was going back home, she saw her high school classmate, Flora, coming out of a Mercedes AMG. She watched closely to see what Flora would be doing in such a slum,

"My husband did not give me much this weekend, it's the much I could get you, mum," Flora said sadly to her mum, as she handed the envelope to her.

Maya thought to herself, how could it be that Flora lived a luxurious life and left her mother to live like a poor lady. She told herself that she would never do that. Maya was about to leave when Flora sighted her,

"Maya? Is that you?" Flora asked Maya while she removed her shades. Maya smiled at her awkwardly saying she was the one.

"It's been like what, eight years?" Flora said looking down of Maya, astounded.

"Yeah, eight years." Maya replied reluctantly.

"What college did you go to?" Flora asked, knowing fully well of Maya and her family's living experiences.

"Uhh... I didn't go." Maya stuttered.

"Oh forgive me, I expected it. You never even finished high school. I should have never asked. I'm so sorry." Flora said mocking her.

Maya was extremely hurt by what Flora said, but she let it slide.

"Are you finally here to take your mum out of this slum? Or your husband did not give you enough stipends this weekend like every other weekends." Maya retorted.

Flora was agitated by Maya's response. She told her that she shouldn't concern herself with her and her husband's life.

"At least one of us is out of this slum," Flora said in anger, as she entered her car and drove off.

Maya eventually got home. She planned on giving them her good news, but unfortunately, she was welcomed with bad news.

"Dad's sick." Diane, Maya's junior sister said, sorrowfully. Maya was confused,

"What? How? This is a joke right." Maya said perplexed.

"It's not. The local doctor said he has Alzheimer's disease." John, Maya's elder brother, said with emptiness.

"What's that?" Maya asked obliviously.

"Something about it being a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions," John explained.

"So dad's going crazy," Maya said sadly.

"Yeah, he's with mum in the bedroom," John said, pointing at the direction of the bedroom.

"Isn't there something we could do? What did the local doctor say?" Maya asked worriedly.

This was when their mother came,

"It can't be cured, but treatment could help." She was saddened by her husband's situation.

"The treatment is expensive, we can't afford it," John said plainly.

"How much?" Maya asked.

"34,000 dollars" He replied.

Maya thought that this would be perfect timing to say what she wanted to say earlier,

"So I saved enough money to leave this place, go to the city and find a job, a real job," Maya stressed.

"It's not that easy Maya," John said.

"How much have you saved?" Maya's mum asked.

"1000 dollars. It would be enough to take me out of this place and into the city. I promise mum we could all live a better life. Dad would be okay." Maya replied.

"You think if you just go to the city a job would be waiting for you on a platter of gold? Maya this is real life, not some Disney fairytale." John said agitatedly.

"At least I'm trying! Dad is going crazy, we can't just sit here and run that fucking restaurant every day like we're not tired of it!" Maya yelled. Everyone was shocked at Maya's response. She immediately apologized,

"I'm so sorry, what I meant to say was, dad is sick, and we can't just stay here doing nothing. I just need you all to trust and believe in me. I can get us a better life. Let me go, mom, please."

"You're 24, you don't need permission from me. I believe in you Maya. Don't keep us waiting."

Maya leapt for joy as she heard her mom say this. She promised she wouldn't let them down. She went to her room to start packing, she didn't have much so it wasn't so hectic for her. Diane came in,

"So you're really leaving?" She asked. Her eyes were filled with tears.

"Temporarily, I promise I'll be back. And by the time I get back, we would be out of this place. You would go to school. We would all be happy." Maya said as she held her sister's hands with faith.

The time had come for Maya to leave, she went to the room where her father lay and said,

"Dad, I would be back I promise. You would be okay." She gave him a slight kiss on his forehead and she left the room.

Her mother and siblings escorted Maya to take a cab. She gave them a big hug as she entered her cab. Her mother prayed for her as she entered the cab, her junior sister also gave her a necklace to remember her, and her brother told her to be focused, and never to give up.

"Destination?" The cab driver said.

"The city," Maya said with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. She said the city with so much faith, like she could taste it's greatness at the tip of her tongue.

They all tried to hold back their tears but they couldn't. They all cried when her cab started moving. It was time to focus on her goal.

Maya had already left Pine Wood. She embraced herself for what the city had to offer her. She had finally arrived in the city. There were luxurious cars everywhere, plying the road, and people were walking to their various places of work.

The cab driver pulled over, he told Maya to get off, that she has reached her destination. He further went to ask for his money,

"How much?" Maya said

"100 dollars" he replied

Maya walked marvelled by the city and its eloquence. It was even better than what she had been seeing on TV. She was farnished, so she walked into a fancy restaurant, everyone was staring at her. She was dressed in a V-neck body hug top and a short jean skirt, whereas everyone in the restaurant was dressed corporately. Nevertheless, she did not mind. She walked toward the counter to ask for the menu. Then the lady behind the counter said to her,

"Ma'am, you do not ask for the menu here, they're on the tables, which as you can see are all taken. Or did you book a table?"

"I thought this was like,"- the lady interrupted her,

"The other local restaurants? No, it isn't. But if you're looking for those kinds they're right by the corner. Bye-bye."

Maya left the restaurant sad and hungry. So she took the lady's advice and went to the local restaurant. She saw flyers and posters on the notice board of the restaurant. She looked into them for jobs she could do. She finally found one. She wrote down the address of the job and decided that she'd finish eating before she goes to apply for the job.