Joanna had celebrated her 20th birthday. From the age of 8, she studied dance and now wanted to be a member of a big company. To achieve it she will travel to Liverpool and audition the following spring.

She was a shy girl, had never lived alone, let alone in a big city. No one accompanied her for her departure. She received, at home, goodbye kisses from her sister and parents who followed her daily routines.

She arrived early at the train station and sat down to wait. She opened a paper bag containing an apple and a sandwich her mother had made for her. She began to eat the sandwich as a thousand fantasies of her dancing Swan Lake in a contemporary dance version flashed through her mind.

A phone booth in front of her distracted her from her thoughts. Several people entered and left that red booth, and their faces seemed happy after talking.

Again, she took the coin and put it in the hole, and then she started talking. Joanna was talking to God. She told him everything she wanted to achieve and told him about her fears. Also, she said him that she wanted to succeed and that she would need his help. The phone booth had become Joanna's confessional. Finally, she said goodbye in the hope that he had heard her.

When she put the handset back, the coin was not returned. She smiled and believed that God received her call.

Like others, Joanna left the booth with flashes of happiness.

Two springs passed but Joanna had not been able to enter the dance company. Time was against her. The dance does not forgive birthdays, but she did not give up.

During the special summer auditions, Joanna met Thomas, a stagehand at the theater. The two were attracted to each other, although it cannot be said that they were in love. However, they began a love affair that led to their marriage and the birth of Morgan.

Joanna had to give up her dream of becoming a professional dancer and dedicated herself to studying choreography.

When Morgan was two years old, Joanna became pregnant again. At nine months old, Craig was born; she and Thomas were no doubt very happy with the family they were forming.

But something was missing from Joanna's life that overshadowed her eyes from time to time. Thomas suggested spending the winter and Christmas with Joanna's parents. He thought the children needed to meet their grandparents, and they made plans to travel and take a short vacation.

It had been eight years since Joanna left that village. Everyone was happy about her return. The children met their Aunt Matilda, Joanna's sister. Joanna's parents were delighted with Thomas and every day in December seemed like a divine gift.

The only one simulating their happiness was Joanna, and Thomas knew it. One night before they left for Liverpool, they talked. Joanna for the first time repeated her whole monologue with God in the cabin. Thomas listened to her carefully. When she finished confessing to him that she felt her life was a great failure, he stopped her.

He was hurt by her words and told her it was important for her to hear the messages God had sent her. She had two children who were growing up beautifully. He loved her with all his heart, and his family loved her too. What are you missing? He asked her.

Joanna pondered her husband's words but said nothing more.

When she arrived at the train station, she looked at the phone booth and saw again the faces of the people as they left.

I lack belief in myself as I did when I left here, Joanna muttered as she entered the train.

I thought I had spoken to God, maybe it was a fantasy but I believed it, Joanna told Thomas as she took his hands and pressed them passionately. Thomas smiled, then hugged her and said in her ear, "I believe in you, God believes in you; you believe in yourself?"

The return trip to Liverpool helped Joanna stop seeing herself as a failure. Her life passed before her eyes which did not stop looking at a crucifix that she had in her hands.

She started working as a second choreographer in a small dance company. Her advances were remarkable, and finally after five years of intense work she had the opportunity to mount a piece.

When she saw the poster on the marquee with her name on it, Joanna Balliacci, choreographer of the piece The Moles, she understood that nothing in life is achieved if you don't try again and again.

You have to believe, study, work, and execute, she thought with satisfaction.

Thomas and Joanna went to the premiere of her first choreography. The success was resounding. The critics and the comments in the press spoke of the futuristic vision of the choreographer Balliacci who until that moment was an unknown in the scenic arts.

Joanna's home phone didn't stop ringing during that week to request interviews. The flowers were also present.

Joanna became the head choreographer of her dance company and refused offers from companies in London and Spain. Success had been slow in coming, but it was the result of her tenacity, and she wanted to share it with those who allowed her to show her art.

Joanna was never a congregation member. On the second Sunday of Advent that year, she went to a telephone booth, picked up the receiver, and placed a coin. She spoke to God as she had done many years before. She gave thanks for all her life, for her parents, for her sister, for Thomas, and her sons. She thanked her for her failures and gave thanks for the opportunities. Please now help others find themselves, he said before ending the call.

When she hung up the phone and the coin was not returned, she smiled.

My participation for Season 2 Week 8 organized by Hive account@theinkwell. If you want to know this challenge you can check the following link Theinkwell Writing Challenge | Season 2 Week 8 .