THE GIRL WHONEVER GAVE UP

CHAPTER ONEA Dream in a Small Room* * *Amara Johnson lived in a small house with her mother, Grace, andher twelve-year-old brother, Daniel. Their home was old, andwhenever it rained heavily, water found its way through the roof.Despite their struggles, Amara never stopped dreaming.She wanted to become a successful writer. Every night, she satbeside her bedroom window and wrote stories in an old notebook.She wrote about brave people, distant places, and ordinaryindividuals who changed their lives through courage anddetermination.Her mother supported her dream, but the world around themwas not always kind. One afternoon, Amara showed her notebookto a neighbour who worked at a local shop.“Stories?” the woman asked, laughing. “How will stories payyour bills?”Amara lowered her eyes. “I don’t know yet,” she replied. “But Iknow I want to try.”That evening, her mother found her sitting quietly beside thewindow.“Why are you sad?” Grace asked.“People think my dream is foolish.”Grace sat beside her and took her hand. “Listen carefully,Amara. People may not understand your dream today. That does not4The Girl Who Never Gave Upmean you must abandon it tomorrow.”Amara smiled. She opened her notebook and began writingagain.She did not know that, one day, the words in that notebookwould take her somewhere she had never imagined.