The stars were twinkling like diamonds in the night sky; alongside them hung the moon, its lucent light shining on Anaya’s face, who sat with her blanket wrapped all around her. Anaya was full of misery as she stared at her phone screen. Its light poked her eyes, but the pain was no match for what she felt in her heart, seeing her test result on that screen.

With the rising sun, another dreadful day started. Anaya couldn’t bring herself to face anyone. For the third time she had failed in her tests. She felt that all her struggle to succeed was in vain.

The following day at school, Anaya was mocked and made fun of by her classmates. Their words were as merciless as a barbarian’s blow — hurting her more than any wound ever could. During these painful days of endurance, Anaya received an email that completely astonished her: her request for a re-exam had been accepted!

Anaya struggled with her emotions and the negative thoughts that kept telling her she would fail. She didn’t want to give up, but the fear of failing again haunted her. Still, she decided to remain patient. Weeks of stress passed, and soon the exam day arrived. With a heavy heart, Anaya gave her exam and hoped for the best.

Days went by slowly and dreadfully, yet Anaya tried her best to remain calm and patient, because this was all she could do. Every day, she felt like she was carrying the weight of her exam on her back. Looking at the people she was surrounded by, she felt like a turtle, moving slowly towards her destination while everyone else was moving smoothly forward in their lives.

This was the moment when she felt drowned and completely lost. But one thing that helped her keep herself strong was her mother’s wise words: “Patience can break through iron doors.”

Finally, the day she had dreaded the most arrived. With trembling hands and a hopeful heart, she opened her email to check her result. Her eyes slowly widened as she took in what she saw — and she felt over the moon. She had passed! Not with flying colours, but enough to move forward. She was overjoyed to realise she could now continue on the path of her dreams.

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 26th, 2025