Somewhere in Poland. Image credit: Pixabay.
Peter couldn’t wait to be called on. The speaker kept skipping him when it was time for questions. He had a question he’d been dying to ask and he couldn’t wait to let it out. He wondered why others weren’t talking about it. He had asked it online several times but it wasn’t answered the way he’d wanted it. He believed asking it in the conference room where a lot of knowledgeable people were present will help clarify things and improve the interactions. It was getting tense in the room already. He was about giving up when he was pointed at to have the floor. He cleared his throat, hesitated and finally raised his voice.
“What’s your take on SMT, do you believe it will bring Steem back on track?”
The thumbs up and nodding of heads from the crowd showed that the question was indeed needed.
“Of course it should.” The lady sitting beside Peter whispered. “You don’t know what SMT means?”
He smiled but didn’t give a response. That was the answer he kept getting online. He needed something solid to hold on to. Roeland advanced to the stage and proceeded to answering the question.
“Well, SMT brought ETH to what it is today, we are hoping…..”
Peter lost focus immediately, Ned’s presence made him lose interest in whatever Roeland was saying. For the first time since he came into the hall, he checked round and noticed other Steemians he’d always wanted to see physically.
“We will be having a party tonight!” He heard Roeland say.
He couldn’t believe he missed the answer he needed, Roeland had been clarifying it for more than five minutes and there he was, still looking confused. The party and other agendas that will occur lifted up his spirit. He was very happy to be in their midst. The old lady sitting at the far end where he was facing made him reminisced back. That was the exact way his mum sited when he gave her the news.
“Mum, I need to get my international passport ready, there’s a chance I’ll be in Poland next month.”
She looked at him and continued what she was doing. She was sewing a dress. Peter walked up to his mum and noticed she was trying not to laugh.
“You don’t believe me? You should ask how possible it is, not mock me.”
“Poland isn’t in Abuja! You will need a lot of money and preparations to get there.” His mum remarked.
He sat on the floor facing her mum and told her about the possibility of him being there. He had submitted an entry in the musical contest hosted by 
“The winner gets a Steemfest ticket and free accommodation Mum! I’m not spending much anyway.” He said.
His mum looked confused, she hugged him and gave him some encouraging words. He had always wanted to leave Nigeria, see other people from different countries and relate with them. Steemfest is offering that opportunity, he wouldn’t blow it away. He took his guitar that was behind the chair his mum was sitting on and stormed out of the room, straight into his. He had just a day to prepare and submit his final entry.
He checked the contest page and noticed three other participants had submitted theirs. Curiosity made him check their entries. What he met wowed him! The entries weren’t just good, the comments from other Steemians made them looked like they would be the winner. It would be very difficult winning any of them he’d thought. He dropped his guitar on his shelf and went back to his mum.
“Guess what, mum? The event had been postponed till next year, so the contest was cancelled.” He told his mum and fell down flat on the only big chair in his mum’s room.
His mum could detect he was lying, she left the cloth she was sewing, walked down to meet him and sat beside him.
“OK, tell me! Who won?” There was no reply from him, so she continued.
“You don’t need to feel sad about it, you know? You probably don’t know you have just a short time to prepare for it. The winner was picked before you made an entry.”
Peter couldn’t control his laughter. He looked at his mum and grimaced.
“How do you do that?”
“What?” His mum had asked.
“You detect my lies easily. Anyway, the contest is still on. It started this morning! There are three entries in it already and I don’t think I can beat the ones I listened to.” He replied.
“I’ve listened to “Perfect” by Ed Sheran, I’ve heard lots of people sing it too and none of them sang it better than you did, even the owner of the song.” His mum teased.
It worked! Those words gave him the confidence he needed. He hugged his mum and it was cut short by a sound from his room. He ran there hoping it wasn’t what he thought it was. He confirmed his suspicion when he saw his guitar on the floor. It had fell from the shelf, he couldn’t tell how but some pieces were missing. Some bolts went lose. After fixing the guitar back, it couldn’t produce good sounds like before. He dropped it on his bed and sat down with a heavy heart. His mum had been in his room, he noticed when she came closer to him. She tried encouraging him to sing without the guitar but he had given up already. She left him alone and went out in search of something.
The lady sitting beside him brought him back to life. She had called his name. He was wondering how she knew him. Another speaker was on stage explaining the arrangements for the party. Peter could recognize the lady clearly now. She was also a participant in the contest. She had come second, it was tough deciding the winner between the two of them.
“Your music entry was lit! How did you come up with that?” She asked.
He smiled when he remembered how he was able to deliver the brilliant entry.
His mum walked into the room carrying the family’s old piano. Peter had always hated the machine, he called it “old fashion”. His mum was the only one that could make good sounds with it. Mrs. Silver connected the piano and placed it on the shelf, then she started playing it. The sounds emitting from it was cool, he started singing immediately. He sang different song that night with his mum providing the sounds for each song. She had been recording the display since they started. Peter never noticed the phone her mum dropped on the table facing him until she took it and started playing all what she had recorded. They were able to choose one of the performance, crop the part out and uploaded it.
“My mum is my muse.” Peter replied.
“Your entry was good too, I was surprised and very happy when I was announced the winner.” He added.
“You almost gave everything up, you said you wouldn’t make it. Why?” The lady asked.
“Let’s just say I overcame so many challenges to be here.” He smirked.
The series of talks was rounded up and everyone dispersed. He was on his way to his hotel room when Brandon called him, the guy that made sure he made it there.
“Hope you are enjoying the event?” Brandon asked.
Peter smiled and hugged him. Bandon had helped him in the embassy when he applied for a Visa.
After releasing Brandon from the hug, Brandon’s passport fell. He bent down to pick it and suddenly his brain ticked. He checked his pocket to confirm if his was intact. He opened his mouth in shock.
“What are you looking for? Don’t tell me it’s your passport.” Brandon asked.
He sighed and walked back to the hall. He thought he was done with the struggles.
The End.
