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AMIRAH RAMÍREZ Chicago, Illinois
AMIRAH looked at the dead plant in the windowsill. Thinking about how long she had tried to keep it alive. She picked it up contemplating if she wanted to throw it away. It was something that she had worked so hard to keep alive but no matter how she watered it, it just kept growing but was dying by each moment.
Her relationship with her current boyfriend Malakai had felt been basically the same. There were moments of growth between them— but every-time she was with him she had moments of doubt. It was clear to her that both the plant and her love for him was beyond repair.
She thought about the last argument they had, how ever since then her feelings had been lost for him. How she knew that the two of them weren't good together. He was her high school sweetheart, and the two of them had grown together. They were inseparable when they were younger.
—but after graduating not only did the world change but they did as well. For the longest time up until recently she felt obligated to stay with him, but after their recent fight— the one where he told her that her passions for helping people wasn't a real job. The one where he basically made her feel worthless, she wasn't too sure on how they could continue a relationship.
"That community center ain't shit Amirah, you need to get a real Fucking job" he told her. His words played constantly in the back of her mind. Maybe he was right, maybe she did need to strive for something more.
"You're putting all this time into that damn community center," Malakai had said, the words sharp, cold. "That's all you care about these days. I thought we were building something together, Amirah, but you're too busy trying to save everyone else."
Amirah's chest tightened. She had always believed in the community center, in helping others. Even as a child, her dream had been to become a doctor—to fix people, to make them whole. But life hadn't gone the way she planned, and the white coat was replaced by a volunteer's badge. The community center was the closest she could get to making a difference.
Her phone buzzed on the counter, pulling her back from her thoughts. She looked at the screen, seeing Malakai's name flash across it. She sighed, her hand hovering over the device before she silenced it.
"Girl, you gone throw the plant out or not?" Saniya; one of her longtime coworkers voice cut through the quiet, snapping Amirah back into the present.
Amirah looked up, forcing a smile as she saw her friend standing by a box of donated clothes. "Oh, yeah. I forgot what I was doing for a second."
Saniya laughed lightly. "Yeah, I can tell."
With a final glance at the dead plant, Amirah made her way to the trash can. She dropped it in, but as the plant hit the bottom with a soft thud, she realized it wasn't just about the plant anymore. It was about everything—the relationship with Malakai, her dreams for the community, and the future she was ready to embrace.
