GREENER PASTURES

CHAPTER TWO

Being forced into medical school, Talia became restless after two years because she did not feel fulfilled. No matter what she explains to her father, he will just wave and say "You do not want to learn, you have always loved to be a doctor since childhood, all this drawing will take you nowhere." This shattered her spirit, making her a shadow of herself in her father's house.

The situation was so subtle that you wouldn't notice it if you did not critically analyze it. Starting from Elizabeth who has always loved Fashion and Designing with the beauty pagans she participated in during her university days and the sewing machine hidden in her room, to Samuel who has always wanted to be a teacher from the way he tutored his mates during his school days and the tutoring jobs he took up during holidays all to his father's dismay, to Talia who had always love to be an Artist, to the Benjamin of the house who wants to be an accountant but had been forced to write an entrance examination into an administrative school immediately after high school.

They all had no choice but stayed quiet and endured it all except Talia who could no longer take it. From her small painting jobs, she began saving up money to open up her studio. But two things held her back; one being the fact that her father will fight tooth and nail and the fact that the job is not recognized in the country which will cause the business to be slow. However, despite all these challenges, Talia was determined to become an artist.

With 'more than life by Justus' blasting through her miniature Bluetooth speaker, Talia let the beats of the music sink into her system and lyrics come alive in her mind making her whole body vibrate as the guitar string was stroked during a testing session.

Her left-hand waves in the air while her right-hand works wander on the canvas, a mixture of black and yellow gradually forming a pair of enclosed hands within which the sun is found, and its rays peeking through the finger.

Yes! This was her right now, though impossible for any hand no matter how black it is to hold the sun, Talia could connect herself to the reality of it all. This was her haven.

"Baam Baam baam baaaaaaam!" her door flies open and her father storms inside, his face like an angry raging storm, starts sending out her painting materials; pencils, crayons of all colors, water paint, and oh! Her oil paint made her as poor as a church rat for a while after buying them through the window.

"No child is above me! I will not tolerate this madness under my roof!" He shouted after destroying things to his satisfaction.

Samuel who was surprisingly home looks at her with so much pity as she goes around trying to salvage the little she could.

Soon the tires of a car were heard screeching, it was Elizabeth who came out of the car like a headless chicken and only stopped by to shout, "And the stubborn fly follows its corpse to the grave."

Talia was soon called into her father's office and after a lot of talking, decisions were made.

"It is either you leave my house and become a painter or you stay and continue medical school," she was ready to pick her painting over everything but just a glance at her mother's face made her rethink her options.

"Papa, why are you giving her options? She has to do what is right. I do not get it eh! Children of today choosing something so stupid and insignificant over what is best for you? Unbelievable!" Elizabeth says adding kerosene to the fire, and that is how the quarreling starts again.

"So Talia?" her father says loud enough for everyone to shut up. This was the position she always prayed not to find herself in. "I will continue with the medical school."

It took everything in her not to run out of that office, the seven small words shattered her long nursed hope for a happy future. Even the relief on her mother's face could not calm the storm in her because the pity in her brother's eyes before he left the office was proof of the reality.

"You better." The smiles her sister and father had on their faces were that of satisfaction which could be easily interpreted as 'we have finally succeeded to bend the iron'

Talia got to her room and found her brother seated arranging her scattered painting materials. The squeaking of the door made him turn and was almost pushed down by the force Talia embraced him. She burst out crying because she thought she could become whatever she wanted to like him but she guessed being a woman makes the whole difference.

"I hope you know what this means" was all he said which was enough to make her rethink her options.

A/N

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