Lucy sighs as she stares at her bank account. She tries to lift her spirit with one final exhale to wash away her gloomy thoughts. Let's just get moving for now. She walks a familiar street.

"Nana!" She yelled as she saw her grandma about to push the cart over a steep hill. Her grandma has been complaining about backaches since last year but still insists on doing this every day. 

"I told you to wait for me before going back." She pouted and took the handles from the elder woman's grasp. "How's today's sales?" She's intentionally mentioning sales but was actually fishing if anything happened unusual today. 

She got home late last night only to find out from a neighbor that there was a commotion at the market that afternoon. A few youngsters had a scuffle near Nana's spot. Her cart was toppled over and most of the snacks went to waste. Looking at the cart up close, there are dents that were not there before. She's glad Nana was not hurt.

"The kids from yesterday came back and apologized for the ruckus they did. They tried to give me some compensation but I didn't take it. We settled with them buying all of the remaining snacks instead." Nana was consoling the young lady by cupping her hands. The intention was appreciated but Lucy sighed at her grandmother's need to comfort another person when she was the one who almost got hurt.

"Ah, so that's why you finished early?" She tried asking in a lighter mood. "They are not kids from what I heard, though. Too bad I didn't see them. I'm giving them an earful or maybe at least a right hook." She says while doing a few punches in the air. Nana's wrinkly face beams a wide smile because of the woman's antics.

 "You should really think about taking it easy Nana, and you should have accepted the money." 

"Don't be like that, Luc. They are your age, that's still young. They already apologized and that's enough." She expected this reply but felt compelled to tell her piece anyway.

She pushes the cart as they walk side by side.

Lucy doesn't know how her Nana got them this far, alone. her mother died while giving birth and her father died before she turned 5. Her first memories are with Nana. 

Nana earns enough to cover their basic needs but the other bills keep coming. The elderly woman managed to get her through high school but now that she's an adult she knew what she had to do. 

They arrived home just before dinner. Nana fixed some noodles while Lucy unloaded the cart. 

"You should eat more."

"Yes, Nana." 

She sat on her desk and studied a bit after eating. An hour passed and she did a well-deserved stretch after finishing a few readings for school.

With her hands still above her head, she took a glimpse of the sketches on the wall. She let her gaze linger a while longer while thinking maybe she should let go of them now.

She wanted to major in arts in college but art universities are so expensive and she's not talented enough to land a scholarship. That final letter of rejection felt like a punch in the gut. 

Her practical self settled for a bachelor's degree in physical therapy. It's a miracle she can even manage to send herself to college at this point. She worked part-time at a health clinic since her first year and has been accepting other side jobs to fund her tuition fee.

Her grandmother only knows nothing about her doing deliveries, handing out leaflets, or waiting tables. She only knows about Lucy working at the clinic.

Looking at her art is depressing, to say the least, but deep in her heart, she felt like she needed this to keep going.

*Clack!* A pebble hit her window pane and she sat up immediately. She knew it wouldn't stop if she didn't answer right away.

"What?" She opened the window and expected the face she saw.

"Hey! Can you come down for a minute? I have something to say!", a young man with both hands up, doing little jumps on the road answers

"You should have knocked on the door!". 

"But, Nana might be sleeping!" He cupped his mouth, whisper-shouting.

"You probably woke her up already!" Lucy pinched between her eyebrows, getting a momentary headache from the stupidity of the man's logic. 

She went down, slid into a jacket, and went outside to meet her friend, Noah.

Noah was blowing on his hands and jogging in place to keep his body warm by the time she arrived. 

"Come inside.", Lucy says, hands in her pocket, gesturing with her body.

"No, no, this will be short. I have a car waiting for me." He was all smiles.

"Whose car? Your car?" Lucy was surprised and confused but moved minimally because she was starting to feel cold, too.

"It's not my car, it's the agency's." He shook his head. "Anyway, listen. I'll be gone for a while, six months tops. I've been accepted and wanted you to know first. 

"Wow!" Lucy finally pulled her hands from her pockets. She held both his hands into hers. Noah was visibly shaken.

"Congratulations!" Her body was about to go a full hug but stopped just before the pull. She didn't want to make things awkward.

Lucy and Noah just got back to being normal friends and she doesn't want to mess that up.

He confessed to Lucy a while back but got turned down. It took Noah months to get over it. She felt sorry but she knew her decision was right. Romance is off the table right Now. She needs to focus on her goals for Nana.

She grabbed his shoulders instead and squeezed them. "Well, looks like you'll be a star when I see you again. I am so proud of you Noah." Her heart felt full knowing how badly Noah wanted this. She felt like a mother with a successful son.

He worked so hard for this. He did a lot of auditions to get into a reputable agency. She saw the struggles. She saw the failures. She saw his spirit. He deserves this.

"Yeah, for sure." He grabbed her shoulders back and looked straight into her eyes. "Wait for me." He gave me a quick but tight hug before running away.

If she knew a hug would happen anyway, she would have hugged him first.