PART 2 – “BEFORE YOU LAUGH AT THIS MOTHER, LISTEN TO HER STORY” — THE DIRECTOR STARTED TO TALKING AND SUDDENLY EVERYONE KNEW ABOUT THE NIGHTS I SPENT ALONE

The director was standing in front of the microphone.

I was holding Emma in my arms and trying to understand what was happening.

I hadn’t asked him to talk about me.

I didn’t want to be the center of attention.

I just wanted to get my diploma and leave.

But he continued.

“Four years ago, this young woman came to our school with a dream. She wanted to complete her education and build a better life.”

I felt my eyes fill with tears.

“She didn’t come from a wealthy family. She worked to pay her tuition, rent, and daily expenses.”

I looked at the floor.

I remembered my first room.

Small.

With an old bed.

A desk by the window.

And a lamp that flickered every time it blew hard.

I had spent countless nights there reading.

The director continued.

“During her studies she became pregnant. And then the difficulties multiplied.”

Some students started looking at each other.

“He could have quit. Many people would understand such a decision.”

He paused.

“But she decided to continue.”

Emma moved slightly in my arms.

I stroked her back.

I remembered the day I found out I was pregnant.

I was sitting alone in the bathroom of my small apartment.

I was holding the test in my hands.

I was shaking.

I didn’t know how I would manage.

Emma’s father was no longer in our lives.

I had no one to share my fear with.

That night I sat on the floor and cried.

“How am I going to raise a child?” I whispered.

“How will I finish school?”

I had no answers.

I just had a little dream.

And a life that was growing inside me.

The director continued talking.

“There were days when she would come to class exhausted. She had worked an entire night shift.”

A professor in the front row lowered his head.

It was Mr. Andreou.

I remembered the day I had fallen asleep for a few seconds in his room.

I had woken up scared.

“Excuse me, sir.”

He had looked at me sternly.

“You need to rest more.”

I had smiled awkwardly.

He didn’t know that I had worked until four in the morning.

Nor that I had only eaten a small sandwich the day before.

The manager looked in my direction.

“She never asked for grades to be awarded.”

I felt the tears flowing.

“He did not ask to bypass the school’s requirements.”

His voice became louder.

“He just asked for a chance to prove he could do it.”

There was absolute silence in the room.

The manager took a step towards me.

“And he is here today because he made it.”

For the first time, a little applause was heard.

But he wasn’t finished.

“What you don’t know is what happened six months before her graduation.”

My heart started beating fast.

I knew exactly what day he was referring to.

It was the day Emma was born.

And the day I almost gave up on everything.

CONTINUED IN PART 3…