Indecision

Ashley’s POV

My heart is beating fast, and I'm confused as hell as I stare at the invitation that I just got. It can’t be … it has to be a mistake that it has been addressed to me.

My full name is written in bold gold letters on the expensive-looking invitation … an invitation that comes from the most coveted fashion company in the whole country, Wilson Global Fashions.

It states that I've been shortlisted for the final of a fashion design contest they are organizing. If I win, I stand to win a grand sum of $100,000, as well as the opportunity to work with the company.

I never applied for any contest, but the invitation in my hand is definitely very real, and it remains in my hand, even after I pinch myself to be sure I’m not dreaming.

“Mummy, what is that?” My inquisitive daughter asks, climbing up the sofa, so she can be tall enough to see what I’ve been staring at for the past several minutes.

She takes the invitation from my hands and inspects it with comic seriousness. While she’s still too young to read, she must have seen the logo of the company and realized that it has something to do with fashion design, because she squeals with excitement and hands the invitation back to me.

“Did you win? Mummy, did you win?” She screeches with childish excitement, jumping down from the sofa and hugging me tightly around the legs.

“Win what? What are you talking about, honey?”

“The thing that Aunty Janet and I did for you.”

My mind flashes back immediately to that day when the landlord came to ask for the rent. A commercial by this same fashion company had been playing on my television, and I remember that Aurora had been so engrossed in watching it.

Before I can question my daughter further, my phone rings shrilly. It is my best friend, Janet, who’s calling, and she screams in my ear before I can even get out a ‘hello.’

“Oh, my goodness, Ashley! Have you checked the news?” 

“No, I haven’t, but …”

“Well, you should check it! Turn on the television right this minute! You made it, girl, you freaking made it! I always knew you had superb talent, girl! I just saw your name listed as one of the candidates who were shortlisted for a fashion design competition by the fashion segment of Wilson Ventures International. Can you imagine that?” She informs me, her voice bursting with excitement.

I stand there frozen, listening to her talk, with the invitation held tightly in my free hand. For a fleeting moment, I can taste it … the unfamiliar taste of imminent success.

The taste of financial freedom that would enable me not to have to endure the leers and insults of my landlord and other people ever again.

“B … but, I didn’t apply for anything. I don’t know how this is possible. They must have made a mistake.” I stammer.

“Well, you have your precocious daughter to thank for that, Ashley. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that the child is only four years old. She acts more like she's ten or even twelve. Anyway, do you remember that evening that you called me crying and pleading with me to come stay with Aurora so you could go to sell your wares at the evening market?”

“Y … yes, I do,” I say softly, my heart beginning to pound wildly.

“Good, well, that evening, she told me about a commercial for a fashion design contest that she saw on TV the previous day, and even that day, and how she wanted you to participate in it, so we both waited for the commercial to show up again. It took a while, I’ll tell you that, but Aurora was very determined to show it to me. She believed that you were exactly the type of candidate that they were looking for.”

“Oh, my goodness! I must be dreaming!”

“No, you're not dreaming, and you need to stop looking down on yourself, Ashley. Even your four-year-old sees your potential, for crying out loud. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we used your design draft to enter into the competition as required, and decided not to tell you until it worked out. It's been our little secret all this while. I’ve been following the application closely, and this evening, I couldn’t believe my eyes or my ears when I heard and saw your name as one of those who had been chosen.” Janet finishes.

By the time we end the conversation and I sink into the sofa, I’m shaking uncontrollably, but hope blossoms in my chest as I imagine all the possibilities that this contest could bring.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed that I would set foot anywhere close to Wilson Global Fashions, not to mention having the opportunity to show them my designs, and as I think about this, tears of gratitude roll down my cheeks.

“Don’t cry, mummy. You're the bestest mummy in the world and you make the bestest clothes. We will make pretty clothes and win the money. Aunty Janet said they’ll give us big money, and they will have you make many clothes for them and pay you. We will buy many candies and chocolates, and we will stay in a big house, and we will not have to see that mean man forever and ever!” Aurora tells me, wiping away my tears with her small hands.

Despite myself, I burst out laughing. She’s such a funny little thing, and I’m so lucky to have her in my life. Later that afternoon, my phone rings again, and when I answer it, it turns out to be the director of events from Wilson Global Fashions (WGF).

Even though I received the invitation earlier, I’m still in disbelief as the woman congratulates me warmly for being one of the shortlisted candidates, and then proceeds to give me a rundown of what I’m to do next.

To think that my draft was accepted out of several hundred drafts from other professional fashion designers is so surreal, and happiness bubbles up within me.

It doesn’t take long for the happiness to dissolve into worry and fear, though, when she tells me where the event will be held.

Just hearing the name of that city elicits so many emotions and memories in me, none of which are good. Every good memory I have of that place was all a lie.

The last time I was in that city was five years ago, and a lot of bad things happened to me there, which made me swear never to set foot in it again for as long as I live, no matter what.

Now, I’ve got this golden opportunity to make an attempt at turning my life around. Do I dare take this bold step, return to the city that broke me, and if I'm unlucky, open up a long-forgotten can of worms?