The Red Velvet Scarf

"Baby, here's something you want to keep very close to you."

Trixie recalled those gentle words as if they had been uttered yesterday.

Now, 10 years after Grandma Debra gave it to her, the red velvet scarf was in her hands, again.

"When in doubt, you wrap this tightly. It'll keep you warm, it'll keep you secure, and it’ll keep you focused."

The occasion was Trixie’s decision to follow her dream. She was moving to the big city to perform on the stage. Grandma was her biggest supporter, and she always looked after her well-being. That included her little advices and gifts wrapped with a strong bond of deep love.

"This scarf is for the hope of becoming the person you want to be." was her final advice to her.

Back then - when she was known as Trishia - she accepted it, even if she thought it was a little gaudy. It was the sentiment that counted, even if she knew back then, that Grandma’s magical powers to protect her through a simple crimson thread was a bit silly.

Now, here it was, long forgotten until she retrieved it from an ancient purse she planned to give a fellow performer.

She unfurled it. Trixie really wished it had those magical powers her grandma claimed it had. She smiled.

The moment was short lived. She heard the click-clack of stiletto heels stop near the room's entrance.

“Trixie!” Honey-Pie, her fellow dancer yelled. “D.J wants your play list! ‘Cuz you’re on next!”

Honey left as quickly as she came.

Trixie glanced at the dressing room’s mirror. The smile on her dolled-up face vanished as she took a hard look through her fake lashes at what she had become. I've made it to the wrong stage, she thought.

She draped the scarf over her lap. There was no way she was going to wear it. She didn’t deserve it.

“Grandma,” she murmured mournfully, “I’ve made it the stage.”

“We always have bumps in the road or detours to take,” she recalled grandmother saying. “But hope gets you through it.”

She ruminated on those words. And for a short moment, she placed the scarf on herself.

And at that moment, Trixie became Trisha, again.

The story is not so much about a stripper who happens to find her grandmother's scarf. It's about the detours one makes on a long and bumpy road in life many of us take in reaching our goals. There's no doubt that many women (and men) don't choose the lifestyle and career Trixie/Trisha chose, but these detours happen and sometimes, if you're no careful, it will pull you off the road or stop you in your tracks.

In the story, the scarf symbolizes hope. To be more precise, the hope of getting back onto that road. In truth, hope can come in the form of anything; especially, a strong desire and determination to live out the dreams you've always had.

I'm always reminded of a poem from Langston Hughes, in which he tells about a mother giving her son some advice about life: "Life ain't no crystal stairs." This is true, but the scene at the top is grand, even if the journey isn't.

Trisha realized this with the help of the scarf. She dumped Trixie as her identity. One lingering questions you must ask yourself is this: Can you get back on the road after being detoured for so long? I may be tough, but it may be worth it.