Life Begins

As the teenage girl sat against the wall sketching and hoping for passersby to put something in her cup, a teenage boy came flying around the corner of the building from the adjacent street and tripped over her feet. She grimaced at him saying “Watch where you are going!” He threw her a hand full of cash as he said “Sorry” and picked himself up. The girl grabbed the cash and threw it back at him saying “Thief!” He stopped and looked at her and then took off so as not to get in more trouble.
However, as the days went by after that incident, Barry couldn’t get rid of the image of the girl throwing the money back at him and calling him a thief. At first he thought, “How dare she call him a thief with her sitting on the corner like that begging.” But he couldn’t shake the meeting: she haunted him.
Clara however, wasn’t actually haunting anyone. She was just trying to survive and make her way in a world that had dealt her a cruel hand. Left on the steps of a Police station as a baby, she ended up in a foster home that was less than happy and loving home. Instead it was abusive and after thwarting an assault attempt by her foster father, Clara ended up on the streets begging but she would not let herself get caught up in the underworld. She knew there was something better out there for her; she just needed to keep her head above water and focus on creating opportunities when she could.
Fate is a funny thing and neither teenager realized their clumsy meeting would propel them on a divergent yet converging course of life. Drawing on each other’s strength and a deep love for each other, they overcame obstacles and embraced opportunities as they arose. This combined strength enabled them to follow their interests and reaching their potentials within very different career fields. Barry becoming a highly respected scientist while Clara became a force in the fashion world.