Unbroken

Part one:Highschool

Light rays of morning fell on Henrietta's face. She woke up and yawned. It was a pretty much matter of wonder that how could she wake up by the light rays of morning though she couldn't see.

She sat on the bed hanging her legs. She searched for her white cane and it was just beside her. Mom never forgets to keep that besides her to assure that she didn't face any problem. But, only keeping the white cane wasn't enough to solve her problems. She was overloaded with lots of problems that was more than enough to make her want to die.
Cracking at the door. Mom entered the room.

"Dear, you're awake? I have a good news for you."

Henrietta didn't say a thing. It was mom's part of daily activity trying to cheer her up by saying that she had a good news. There surely was some news, but not so good for her. The news were like, neighbor's daughter getting married, old grandpa of mom's friend coming from old age home, the hen of the nearby farm laying eggs etc. That was an attempt to lighten up Henrietta's mood. It firstly seemed sweet to her, but soon started fading away. Now, it seemed so stupid to her. But, Henrietta wasn't rude enough to prevent her mom from saying these every morning. Because, besides agnoy and sadness, mom was her one and only friend.

"Yes,mom? Whats the good news is about?", Henrietta tried hard to show intrigue.

"Mrs.Peerson has called. She had arranged a place for you in the local highschool! Isn't this amazing? You'll go to school like others."

Henrietta bursted into fury. It has crossed the limit.

"Mom, this news is surely made up by yourself. So, don't ever want to cheer me up with fake news. I hate showing mercy to me!"

Mom stared at her with a disappointed face. She was hurt. She wasn't lying, nor had she made up the news. Henrietta was literally admitted into the highschool.

"Why are you behaimg with me like this? What wrong did I say?"

"Mom, you're saying that I'm allowed in a highschool. But, do you know that I can understand that you're lying this time? There is no school for blinds in the near area. So, please stop showing me false dreams. I'm enough dented with broken dreams. Not more!"

"Alright! Just do what you want! I was good with you, but what the way you talked to me? Why are you so harsh to me? I'm not going to talk to you."

Mom left the room with a great anger. She was upset with Henrietta.

Henrietta waited until mom's footsteps were blur. She got up from the bed and made her way to the restroom with the help of her memory. She knew each and every inch of this house that she never needed the white cane to move freely in this house.

She entered the restroom and spilled some water on her pale white face. She touched her face, then touched the mirror. She wanted to know how she looked, how she seemed.
She was fifteen. In this age, girls listen to the song, "And, when you're fifteen, somebody tells you I love you, you gonna believe that." Then, they look at the mirror to figure out how they looked. But, this wasn't applicable for Henrietta. She would never know how she did look. Beautiful? Nice?

She sometimes mourn for this. She was blind from her birth. Her parents couldn't understand this, nor the doctors. When she was two, her nany found out that she could walk in the dark too. It was obvious that darkness didn't matter to a person who couldn't see. Her parents then took her to physician. The physician told her to walk in the room. She walked, but touching the walls. The physician also noticed that she stared directly to something. She didn't look at the source of sound like others do.

It was the phase of their nightmare when the physician declared that she was blinf. Her optical nerves were so weak from the womb due to malnourishment.

Her parents cried. Her dad yelled at the physician, mom pleaded and begged to operate her and return her eyesight. But, it was impossible. The physician had nothing to do with it.

They taught Henrietta how to walk with the white cane, how to cope up with life without eyes. But, she didn't need it. She had already learnt to live without eyes as she never had them. Her parents never gave up. They were regretting. They were ashamed to think how it took long two years for them to understand that there daughter was visually impaired. Trying to make her trained was a part of their repent which soon became irritating to Henrietta.

Till now, she didn't have any problem with being blind. She never felt the necessity of a pair of dark blue beautiful eyes. But, recently, like other girls, she was feeling the crave to see herself which she never could.

"Dear, how long are you in the washroom? Come on out now.", mom shouted. She was again in her usual voice.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

Henrietta came out and tied her long brunet hair in crunches. She pulled over her white cardigan and came over the breakfast place.

Mom was serving. She served beef sausage on Henrietta's plate.

"Sweety, I know you're angry with me thinking that I lied to you about attending school. But, believe me, I didn't lie. You're not going to a blind school. You're going to the normal highschool meant for normal children. Because, you're normal too. Not possessing the ability to see doesn't make one abnormal."

Henrietta paused. "Who the hell is going to admit me in a normal highschool? Is there is lack of brilliant students who can see?"

"Dear, don't misunderstand me. You're admitted already. You are not going to believe, but well, they told me that you were brilliant. And, you are going to ask, how? By the way, I sent them some of your exercise books to them where you solved mathematics problem of your own. Any more doubt?"

Henrietta got up and ran to mom. She wrapped her skinny hands around her mom and kissed her.

"Mom you're so sweet! I don't know how to thank you. Yes, you're not lying. You never did. I love you."

"I love you too. If possible, you're about to start your school from tomorrow. Yay! Isn't that great?"

Henrietta thought. "Yes, mom. It is going to be great. But I'm afraid that they're going to make fun of me. Aren't they?"

"No! They are going to be so nice to you. You must not fear. They are your age mates and they are not gonna judge you by your physical feature. They will see your outlook and how you are from heart. And, believe me you have a perfectly good heart."

Mom bent and kissed her. Henrietta smiled. She was excited for going to school, but she didn't know it could be worse. She didn't imagine that this was going to give birth to a new story, the story of unbroken Henrietta. Where she would fight to survive in the rude and harsh world.