If only she knew…Karen fought back those tears of regret. She had always been careful in her decisions and actions…until now. She bit her lower lip as she recalled that first meeting with Scott.
She had been fascinated by his style, glamour, carriage and the way he spoke. He sounded so convincing, like he knew what he was doing. How could this be wrong? It made so much sense and looked so promising…
Her life ambition was to take her singing to the highest level ever, to explore all opportunities available to her. She knew she was good, and was already a part of this small band; but she wanted more and felt so limited…by her location. She was born and raised in a little town in Arizona, and she believed there must be something more for her – in the big cities perhaps. So when Scott came along with a promise of stardom in Hollywood, all she could think of was how soon this could be!
Normally, she would take another week or two to think about it. She would ask for her close friends’ opinion; she would even pray about it! But this time she decided to go another route… “There’s always that first step you take or you’ll lose your opportunity”, she reasoned as she finalized her commitment without further thought.
Oh! To think this was going to be her most fatal blow ever! She hadn’t seen it coming as she resigned her job and bade her friends goodbye. It had been tough breaking the news to her band, but she managed to convince them this was best for her. She’ll definitely keep in touch, she promised; success would not affect her relationships.
She sat back in her chair as she recalled her challenges growing up. Her father died when she was very little, and her mother constantly struggled to give her the very best possible; but when it came to college, her mom couldn’t afford it. She remembered her first job at the grocery store, and then as a waitress in the local restaurant. She had felt so proud, but her greatest desire was to go to college and develop her musical talents. Her mom died just as Karen turned twenty and because she couldn’t keep up with the home mortgage payments, their house was foreclosed.
She lived in her car the first months as she needed every dime she could save for college. She later got a job caring for the elderly and would take her shower at work early in the mornings before anyone was up. But she made it through! She went to college and later landed a great job and was beginning to do really well for herself. Joining her band was the climax. She was able to perform several weekends and her talent truly blossomed.
But she had wanted more. She was tired of the struggles. She wanted to be rich and quickly too. She was tired of living “paycheck to paycheck”. So when this offer came along she plunged herself right into it without a second thought.
Slowly, but surely, her life savings disintegrated, as she struggled to meet up with the high standard of living in her new city. The contract hadn’t pulled through as expected. All she got were mere promises, and it was too late before she realized she had been chasing a shadow…by then all her savings were gone and she still didn’t have a job.
She wish she can turn back the hands of the clock, and rewrite her yesterday…but today is all she has. Reaching for the phone, she muttered: “I’ll make the best of what I have left”
“Karen!!! Where have you been? What happened to your phone? We’ve been trying to reach you for ages!” Samantha sounded so excited.
“Long story” said Karen. “I’m coming back home”
“That’ll be so great! We got this contract we’ve been working on. We actually went on a tour last month and we have another scheduled for this month. It’s been so busy over here. I can imagine how busy you must be over there too…so you’re taking a break and coming over?”
There was a long silence.
“Hello?”
“I’ll explain all when I see you.” Karen answered.
She sank back into her chair, her head in her hands. What she had been looking for, all she had needed were right there in her little town! If only she had trusted God more and hadn’t been so hasty…
*** “Hasty Sparrow” is a challenge entry I did for the FaithWriters Writing Challenge in 2008.