"Well Keisha this is your last free lesson," says Mr. Vanguard escorting Keisha to the door.
"But I don't have the money to pay and this is something I want to do," Keisha replies losing her grip on her jacket.
"Keisha there are a million teenagers who want to take over the world with their skills and I am running a business. My advice to you would be to get a job and find a way to support what you love."
When Keisha heard this her heart skipped a beat. Then a song with a simple tune popped in her head. Everyday Keisha heard songs but this one had to be sung. Keisha was determined to play the guitar.
The next day she went to the library, where she often hung out at. She loaded up on books. After three weeks of cramming her little skull with knowledge she pawned her gold cross that her dad had given her. It was the only thing he had ever given her. She got three hundred dollars for it. She then took the money and bought some material to build her own instrument. She called it the Kitty Kat. It took her two mouths and eight days to build, now she just needed an audience. Keisha didn't have many friends, but there was a church down the street from where she lived.
"If I could just get a chance to play in front of people, if I could just find me an audience," she said to herself putting the finishing pieces to her instrument together. In a total of three months and seven days, she had thirty three songs. She tried everything to get people to hear her song. When she went to the church she didn't feel welcomed, when she went to the bar she was underage so she tried the only place she knew would let her play. Keisha went outside of the VFW. She sat in the parking lot for twelve hours playing some of her best songs. The first day she got three listeners. Then the next she got ten. After she made the twelve o'clock news she became an overnight success. This was uncommon in the real world. The amazing thing about this story is that Keisha was no different from any other musician trying to find an audience. She was very unorthodox, but she had a different method. She had her own method. She had her own vision. She didn't understand why she wanted to play so bad. She didn't even know why no matter what she did, she would hear a tune. Sitting at the VFW everyday and playing became her calling. Thankful veterans were just happy to hear her play, one veteran gave her his whole benefits check and bought her a stage. Keisha had become a savior. Her songs where so real and she sung from the soul. It was amazing. It was truly a miracle. What Keisha had learned from all of this recognition was that sometimes one thankful music lesson and one nod to the door could stir up a part of a person that they didn't know existed. Keisha's will to work for her joy gave her a place in the world. Keisha's will to work for joy gave her a song. On her last visit to the VFW she sung her own version of the national anthem. It moved the veterans so much that they built a monument of her and placed it in front of the building where she loved to play. A lost soul with no hope and no place in the world had found her joy and others who were lost where found when she played. Keisha just wanted someone to listen and as the years went by she toured every VFW she could with her songs of joy. At the end of her journey she went back to where it all started. She went to see Mr. Vanguard who was sick and on his death bed.
"I'm assuming you have come back to get your revenge," Mr. Vanguard says as Keisha enters the room.
"Actually I came back to play you a song. This was the song I had in my head when I last saw you," Keisha explained as she began to play.
When Mr. Vanguard heard the sound he felt a breath of life. He got up out of his bed and started singing. Keisha had resurrected the old man. The song added twenty plus years to his seventy year old soul. After hearing the song he started a seventies band and partied to his death. Keisha sang at his funeral. Everywhere she went she had a crowd of people around her. She was a star. Then she faced her last challenge. She herself had to become a teacher. Keisha had to pass down the legacy of Mr. Vanguard, but now Keisha had to find a way to make sure that every child was thankful for their last free music lesson.
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