Summary

Anna, a successful woman, confronts her past and the community that supported her when she snubs them for her award ceremony, leading to a reflection on the importance of remembering and honoring one's roots.

Abstract

The narrative revolves around Anna, a woman who has achieved significant success, symbolized by her Golden Globe award. During a visit to the Survival-4-All Community Center, she is challenged by her former mentors and community members for neglecting to attend an event that was important to them. They remind her of the support and sacrifices made by the community that helped her reach her current status. The confrontation escalates as Christine, a member of the community, recounts the specific acts of kindness from various individuals who are now represented by their descendants at the center. Anna's dismissive attitude towards her past and the people who helped her leads to a poignant moment when she is later found in a vulnerable state, having seemingly returned to the community that once lifted her from difficult circumstances. The story concludes with a moral reflection on the significance of acknowledging one's origins and the potential consequences of forgetting them.

Opinions

Anna is portrayed as ungrateful and disconnected from her past, as she fails to recognize the role the community played in her success.
The community members, particularly Christine, express a sense of betrayal and disappointment in Anna's lack of appreciation and presence at significant events.
The story suggests that success should not lead to forgetting one's roots or the people who contributed to personal achievements.
There is an underlying belief that individuals have a moral obligation to give back to their communities and acknowledge the help they received on their journey to success.
The narrative emphasizes the idea that life has a way of reminding individuals of their origins, implying that those who forget their past may face a humbling return to it.
The children at the community center represent the future and the importance of instilling values of gratitude and community service in the next generation.

Walk Back Or Be Thrown Back!

They have something in the basement!

“This is what you skipped my award ceremony for?” Anna demanded.

More than thirty pairs of eyes stared at her; a beautiful pink lacy chiffon gown decorated her curvy yoga fit body.

She held the golden Globe so everyone could see it and complained, “I invited you all. I paid for tickets, and you didn’t even have the decency to tell me you can’t make it.”

“We told you months ago of our obligation and dedication to the Center,” Kayon reminded her.

“They couldn’t wait!” she fumed.

“But this is more important!” a voice at the back shouted.

“How? They are not more important than I,” she demanded.

Silence blanketed the interior of the Survival-4-All Community Center as Kayon, Christine and Denise glared at Anna, struggling to control the rage she was igniting in front of more than twenty children.

“We don’t know who you are anymore?” Christine barked. “Have you forgotten that it was in this room more than twenty years ago that you got your start?”

“I fought for what I want to get to where I am. I don’t owe anyone anything,” Anna defends.

“Really,” Christine asked, easing closer from the back. Pointing to her left, she said, “Amanda, over there with the basketball. Her grandmother saved your ass from being raped by three men. Paul is in the wheelchair to your right. His Grand-uncle lied to the cops who were about to arrest you for shoplifting. Lacia, on stage, her Grandaunt fed you when your mother lost her job. Anthony, his Grand-uncle, and his wife took you and your sister in when your building caught fire. Linda, her grandfather, got you your first job. Victor, his grandfather, tutored us and helped us get high grades on our SAT, which gave us a scholarship to our dream college. Danielle, her single grandmother, made sure we were in school every day and stayed on the straight and narrow path. And I can go on and on about the many nights we stayed here. Safe and secured, surrounded by people who cared. People who weren’t family. People who gave us the love and kindness that we need to survive,” she gestured. “Getting help from one of these children’s relatives. None of these children was born yet. Here is where you started! Here is where your roots are! Here, you learn everything that is carrying you and has kept you where you are now. How dare you forget!”

“You all like living in hell. I don’t,” she barked back.

“That’s your best excuse?” Christine battled with her.

Anna glared at her as more than twenty children watched and listened.

“Sorry, but I don’t need an excuse to avoid hell.”

“You really forget where you came from,” Christine calmly said, feeling the children’s stare as it forced her body to remain still, pushing the rage back.

“When we were children, Auntie Iris, Amanda’s grandmother, begged us not to forget where we came from.”

“She forgot that she was living in hell. I have the right not to return to hell,” Anna defends her right to choose.

“She also said, ‘you can walk back, or you will be thrown back,’” Christine refreshed her memory.

Nodding, Anna strutted out in her silhouette, hugging her Golden Globe.

Five years later, Christine was working late. As she turned off the light to exit her office at the Center, a familiar voice said, “I told you she isn’t here. She doesn’t stay late on Sundays.”

That voice sounded like twelve-year-old Colin Richards, she said to herself. What is he doing here so late?

“I saw the lights on a moment ago,” Twelve-year-old Jorge Millard swore.

“She doesn’t lock her office. You can look if you don’t believe me,” Colin urged.

Christine quickly stepped back and hid under her desk.

The door opened, and the lights came on, “See, no one is here,” Colin said.

The lights went off, and the door slammed. Christine rushed to the door peeking through the peephole as they walked down the hall and opened the last door on the left.

They have something in the basement!

Five minutes later, she surprised them. They were feeding a female junkie wrapped up in the old newspaper.

“Anna!” Christine cried out in shock.