Her hands were often covered in wounds and her fingers swollen, but she never complained.

One day, as they spread plastic sheets in the sun behind their shack, her mother smiled and said,

“Lira, one day you will walk on stage, and I will applaud you with pride, even if I am covered in mud.”

She didn’t respond. She just hid her tears.

At university, Lira worked as a tutor to help with expenses.
Every night after teaching, she would stop by the dump where her mother was waiting to help her carry the plastic bags.