Shine

Chapter One

One

I should start at the beginning of my life. You know when I first saw the world. But really the story begins here, when I was a mere teenager. I lived a normal life for fourteen years, never expecting any big change. I thought I just gonna go to high school, then maybe college-if we have enough money, then get a job as a clerk or something, get married, have kids.

I can barely actually remember when I lived in a simple two room apartment now. So much has happened since then. Our apartment was in a section of New Jersey called The Pigeon. Reason why? Well, there were a heck lot of pigeons.

I'm pretty sure there were more of those annoying beady birds than people really. They loitered around lobbies and hanged around buildings and... The park.

Their official paradise.

Retirement must get boring time to time. Sitting at home alone, knitting, baking... Sigh. And guess what? The retirement home is snugly situated in the heart of Leader park. And what can you imagine?

Yup, a whole load of grandmas and grandpas sitting with loaves of bread, feeding the pigeons while having a competitive game of Bingo.

The pigeon was boring, our daily routine never changed. All people did was eat and sleep. It wasn't really living.

The place stank, there was garbage everywhere, that nobody could bother picking up. Quite a few of the residents had came from asylums, rehabilitation centres or they were drug addicts/alcoholics.

Then it all changed, just from a little announcement.

Maybe if I knew what would've happened after the auditions, I would have immediately quit choir and anything musical for my own good.