Girl with Deaf Mom Dreams to Be a Singer, Everyone Laughs until Music Contest Host Calls Her Name — Story of the Day

Lucy's deaf and mute parents were the wind beneath her wings. After her father died, Lucy's dream profession was in question - until the final round of an interschool music contest.

Lucy felt like a song nobody could hear. As she looked around on her walk to school, she saw people busy with their thoughts and plans, unwilling to look a stranger in the eye or acknowledge her faint humming of a song.

'I bet nobody would notice even if I broke into song in the middle of the street right now, like a scene from a musical.'

There had only ever been two people who understood Lucy and knew her love for music. And as fate would have it, both of them were deaf and mute.

Lucy's father was the proudest of her natural talent. Every chance he got, he would ask Lucy to sing in front of his friends or family. And when Lucy reluctantly began singing, he would look at the faces of the listeners.

Their faces would light up, their idle lips would smile, and their eyes welled up with tears. It is through these reactions that Lucy's father heard the divinity of his daughter's voice.

A parent can be the greatest source of confidence for a child.

For her 11th birthday, her father loaned money from a few friends and bought her a grand piano. The beautiful instrument breathed life into their otherwise quiet and somber home.

A week later, Lucy's father died of a heart attack in his sleep.

To Lucy, the world became harsher after losing her greatest fan and supporter. The teasing and mocking kids in her class had never bothered her so much. Her mother had never seemed so afraid and distant. Her piano had never caught so much dust.

Her mother, who had been the only other person to support her dream of becoming an artist, suddenly wanted her to focus only on academics. 'I don't blame her. Dad made her a dreamer, and without him, she is afraid to dream anymore,' Lucy thought.

In addition to working shifts at a local clinic, Lucy's mother had started sewing and baking from home. Lucy couldn't sew or bake, so she studied hard.

One day, a new teacher walked into Lucy's class.

"Tell me your name and what you want to be when you grow up."

"My mother says I'm good at math. I could become an accountant," Lucy said without looking at the teacher.

"That's what your mother thinks you should become. But what is it that YOU want to become?" The teacher approached Lucy's desk, and the whole class was waiting for an answer.

"A singer! I want to become a singer!"

The known bunch of naughty children at the back began to giggle. "Huh? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" one of the boys said out loud, causing another outburst of laughter and mockery in the back.

That laughter pierced through Lucy's ears, and she followed her strong impulse to run away. She wanted the earth to part under her feet and to fall into nothingness. She did not want to be found, questioned, or mocked anymore.

She ran along the long hallway until she spotted a piano in the art room. She rushed into the room and closed the door behind her.

The piano looked like the one her father had bought her. She could almost see him leaning on one side of it, waiting for her to close her eyes and start singing.

'Papa!' she cried to herself.

In the silence that echoed in the room, Lucy sat at the piano and began to play. It wasn't a song she had learned or heard before. There was no beginning, no bridge, no end.

Lucy played and played, and when her heart was too full, she began to sing. She sang with all her strength, swaying back and forth, tears rolling down her eyes.

The class had gathered outside the room, and everyone, including the new teacher, witnessed Lucy sing the words 'music to my soul' in a hundred different ways.

Those were the last words Lucy's dad expressed to her.

When Lucy felt drained of all her energy, she collapsed on the chair and broke into tears. Her teacher rushed in to embrace her, and every child in her class followed.

A week later, Lucy's mother was cleaning out the school bag when she noticed a pamphlet in one of the notebooks.

It was an invitation to the finals of an interschool music contest. Lucy's mother was impressed to see some big celebrity names, including the evening's host. But when she got to the bottom of the pamphlet, she was shocked to see Lucy's name among the finalists.

"I thought I had specifically asked you not to waste your time in such activities!" Lucy could read the anger in her mother's gestures.

"Do what you will. You can be sure of one thing: I will not be there in the crowd. I know this disappoints you, but I am NOT your father."

It was the day of the contest, and her mother's angry, teary-eyed face kept flashing before Lucy's eyes. She walked onto the stage, sat by the piano, and tried not to get startled by the spotlight.

In the darkness in front of the stage, she could barely see that the hall was filled. She only imagined one face, smiling back at her, waiting for her to start singing.

She began, not moving her eyes from the spot where she imagined her father sitting. It was his favorite song.

But a few lines in, the poor girl choked up. It was like the song's words and the notes had exited her mind. She was lost.

The moment the lights turned on, she saw the sea of people looking at her with concern.

'What was I thinking?' Lucy ran away and escaped backstage behind one of the wings.

For the rest of the show, Lucy hid backstage. 'I knew I had let my mother down. But today, I let my father down, too.'

But she hadn't. When the celebrity anchor walked into the stage to announce the results, he took a dramatic pause and looked the audience in the eye.

"We've seen some good young talent here today. And while each of them has managed to surprise and delight us in different ways, there is one clear winner.

"Tonight's winner has inspired every heart in the audience here today."

"The winner of this year's interschool music contest is…Lucy Spector!"

The audience stood up and broke into applause, and after waiting for several minutes, they finally got to see Lucy on stage again.

After she accepted the trophy, wiped her tears, and took a bow, one person in the audience continued to clap. With hand gestures that no one else in the room understood, the woman signaled, "Dad's smiling up there!"

What can we learn from this story?

• Don't give up on your dreams. Lucy was mocked by her classmates for wanting to be a singer, but her talent and win was a beffiting response to their mockery.
• A parent can be the greatest source of confidence for a child. Lucy's father encouraged her to pursue music, even buying her a piano. Although it took a while, Lucy's mother, too, realized that she should support her child's dreams.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a little girl who puts her dream aside with the intention of helping a friend in need.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.