It was Thursday, like any other Thursday. I had my usual soggy cereal, which gets mushy way too fast. The sky outside looked completely confused, as if it couldn’t decide whether it was sunny, cloudy, or somewhere in between.

At the time, I had no idea that by the end of the day, I would feel like a lion. Not the kind that roars and scares everyone away. The kind with wobbly knees, a thumping heart, and sneakers that somehow felt just a little bit braver than before.

It was the day of our school play. I had been cast as a tree. A plain, leafy tree in the background. Not a magical tree that dances or talks, just a regular old tree whose one important job was to sway like the wind… and definitely, not trip over the stage........

© Dawn Young Magazine