13. Hidden

The day before my fifteenth birthday should have been filled with anticipation and excitement, but instead, it was clouded by a turbulent storm of emotions. An intense argument with my mom had erupted seemingly out of nowhere, propelling me out the door and towards Grandpa's house for refuge. The fight had escalated quickly, my emotions boiling over until I found myself shouting, my words echoing with more anger and pain than I intended.

I couldn't pinpoint exactly why the fight started. The triggers always seemed trivial retrospectively. However, beneath the surface was a deeper discord, mostly revolving around my mom's disapproval of the path I had chosen for myself.

She had never hidden her disdain for my ambitions in chess. In her eyes, being a chess champion was a pursuit far beneath my potential. She believed I could achieve more conventional success. Success that looked impressive in the eyes of our small community and beyond.

Her constant critique that I could, and should, as