1.

 

Monica sighed as she closed the book in front of her and looked around the coffee house. She had spent the past few days in there, frittering away her time, hoping that inspiration would strike, and she would be able to justify the fact that she had quit her job to start a new life. But, so far, nothing was coming to her.

It appeared as if her muse had well and truly left the building, and now she was alone with no job, a savings account that would no doubt quickly dwindle, and a boat load of anxiety.

She closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck.

When she had walked out of her job at the bar in town, she hadn’t truly thought of the consequences. She had been full of excitement and enthusiasm, and she had been certain she was making the right decision.

For as long as she could remember, Monica had wanted to be her own boss. She wanted to travel the world and work from wherever the mood took her. She had known it would be creative on some level, but she hadn’t really believed she had a calling until her friends had told her how much they loved her beauty and lifestyle blog. Now, she had finally saved up enough money to try and make a go for it for real. But the second she had sat down with her laptop and tried to think of some fun and quirky post ideas, her mind had gone blank.

And now, she was worried.

When she had been blogging for a hobby, she was never short of ideas or inspiration. But now that it was serious, and she was trying to make this her career, it suddenly seemed like she was under a whole lot of pressure and she couldn’t string one coherent sentence together.

She chewed her lip and put her head in her hands.

Even the book she had been studying for the past week, How-To Turn Your Blog into Your Main Source of Income wasn’t generating any sparks of genius, and the more she stared at the blank page in front of her, the more she was starting to panic.

“Deep breaths,” she coached herself.

At the same time, the barista wandered past her and slowed when she approached her table. Casey was young and bright eyed, and she had the enthusiasm that Monica had had once when she had started working at the bar.

“You look depressed,” she said matter-of-factly to Monica. “Come on, spill it. I can tell when a girl is in need.”

Monica smiled at her warmly and felt a reassurance roll through her. All she had to do was get back whatever it was that Casey was fueled on. She was raring to go, and she was still working for someone else. Monica was going to have to try and recapture how she had felt when she first started working at eighteen.

“I’m okay, honestly,” she smiled. “I just, well, I can’t seem to find any inspiration.”

“For your blog?” Casey asked as she peered over Monica’s shoulder and at the blank page on the screen.

Monica nodded her head and tried not to let herself blush a deep shade of crimson.

“I left the bar,” she said in a hushed voice to Casey. “I walked out last week, and now I’m starting to panic.”

Casey looked momentarily stunned, as if the news was unbelievable, and Monica could hardly blame her. She had literally worked there since she had left high school, and now, as she was nearing twenty-five, she had quit with nothing to truly fall back on.

“Wow,” Casey said. “That’s a big move.”

“It is,” Monica admitted. “And now I have bad feelings with Reggie too. He’s saying I’ve left him in the lurch even though I didn’t have a notice period. But he’s super mad, and I guess I can’t blame him.”

Reggie was the owner of the bar and he had always been a bit of a jerk. So now that he had a reason to be annoyed at Monica, she was worried he was going to make her life a living hell.

“You know what I would do?” Casey said as she sat on the side of the table and smiled down at Monica. “I would get the hell out of town for a while. Go on an adventure and find some inspiration elsewhere. What has this place got going for it that’s going to suddenly give you a spark of creativity?”

Monica smiled and nodded her head.

For someone so young, Casey really did know the right things to say.

“I guess I could,” Monica pondered as she looked out the window and onto the dirty streets of her town beyond.

“Of course, you could,” Casey said as she got to her feet and started to walk back toward the counter. “Do it and I’ll even give you this next Caramel Latte for free.”

Monica laughed and thought on it for a moment. There was nothing stopping her from skipping town for a couple of weeks, and for all she knew, it could be exactly the thing she needed to kickstart her blogging career and bring back her muse.

She nodded her head.

“Okay,” Monica said with a cheeky smile. “You’re on.”

“Woo!” Casey said as she clapped her hands above her head and moved toward the coffee machine. “And I insist you keep me updated, every step of the way.”

“Most certainly,” Monica laughed. “And not only that, but if it works, then I’ll even do a special message of thanks to you online.”

Casey held her hands to her chest in jest, as if she were clutching an imaginary reward.

“That would be just perfect,” she said as she jokingly wiped away a fake tear.

Monica looked wistfully out of the window whilst Casey steamed up her coffee and brought it over to her. When she set it down on the table, Monica thanked her and then turned to her and smiled again.

“I knew coming in here would finally churn up some good ideas,” she joked.

“Well, I am glad to be of service,” Casey laughed. “Maybe I am the muse and you should take me with you.”

“Hey, if you fancy a vacation then you are more than welcome,” Monica said genuinely.

“I wish,” Casey frowned. “I think I’ll be tied to the machines in here until Christmas at this rate.”

She wandered back over to the counter and began to serve the waiting customers, and Monica picked up her coffee and took a deeply satisfying sip.

It had been a long, rather stressful week, but finally, she felt as if things were coming together. 

She had a plan, and she was going to throw it into action.

It was time for her to head off into the world alone and have an adventure.

It was time for her to discover who she truly was and make her dreams become a reality.