Love & Serenity

Chapter 5

Lillian was conscious before she opened her eyes. It was that moment in time when you were fully rested and you were ready to take on the day. She rarely had mornings like this, she usually had to force herself to open her eyes and drag herself out of bed but not today. She let out a soft exhale as she smiled listening to nature all around her. She was yet to see what her new surrounding looked like but from what she could hear, the birds chirping, the soft sound of waves crashing on the shore, she knew it was going to be beautiful. For someone who was used to the crazy New York noise, she sure could get used to this.

Lillian's eyes finally lifted after she said a short prayer. She turned from her side and laid on her back as she took in the room she'd slept in with the day's light. The wooden ceiling ascending up and meeting at the centre, the unreasonable number of dream catchers hung almost everywhere. She added that to the list of things she had to get fixed.

Pushing herself to sit up, the heel of her hands digging into the bed on either side of her. She looked to her left where a really comfy long chair was draped over with a quilt and a colourful cushion. A guitar hooked to its stand was right beside the chair. On her right was a study table with a shelf packed with books that made her smile, she couldn't wait to get to them. Pushing the blanket away from her, her legs slid to the floor and landed on the softest rug that made her dig her toes into it. Getting up, she found a pair of brown sliders and slipped her feet into it as she put on her grey woollen sweater over her pyjamas. As she did that, she looked through the window behind the bed and smiled at the nature that called to her.

Without wasting any more time, she made her way down the stairs and sighed a sigh of contentment at the sight of the rest of the cabin in daylight. It was absolutely beautiful. At the end of the stairs, she paused and took it in before making her way towards the kitchen.

She had a lot of cleaning to do before she could do anything in the kitchen and she knew she had to get started right away, but first, breakfast and some coffee. Just as she turned around to head back upstairs and get dressed, she froze when she gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window on the right side of the kitchen, right beneath the stairs. She sucked in a breath at the sight in front of her, moving closer without even knowing.

Did she say the floor-to-ceiling window? Make that a glass door. She smiled as she held the handle and slid the door open. The cool morning air immediately hit her face and she inhaled deeply. Stepping out to the porch that seemed to go around to the front and the other side of the cabin, she walked up to the edge and placed her hand on the rails taking in the view before her.

The tips of the trees floated before her descending to the sea, water crashing against rocks. The sunlight hitting the water just right made it sparkle. If this wasn't going to get her Zen back, she had no idea what would.

It was absolutely serene.

Shutting her eyes and tipping her head back just a bit, she inhaled the smell of nature, the sun hitting her face. She smiled.

It was perfect.
She thought as she opened her eyes.

Her body feeling light and content, her mind just the same, she turned around and headed back upstairs to get freshened up and ready before she headed out.

Lillian pulled up in front of Mindy's and was out and making her way inside immediately. She needed an early start on getting the cabin cleaned or she wouldn't be able to write with her mind stuck on getting the place cleaned up. Just as she walked in, Mindy, who she'd met last night turned to her and smiled as Lillian approached her.

"Good morning." Lillian greeted with a smile as she leaned against the counter between them.

"We have an early bird."

Lillian smiled.
"Not really."

Mindy waited for her to say more.
"What can I get you?"

"Uh, a salad?"

"I think we can do something better. How about pancakes?"

Lillian smiled.
"That would be great, thank you."

"And some coffee?"

"Yes please," Lillian said. "Can I have it to go?"

"Of course," Mindy said and went to give the kitchen her order before she got back to her. "Busy day?"

"Something like that."

"Take a seat, it'll be a minute."

"Alright," Lillian said before she went to one of the booths to take her seat.

Lillian was seated in one of the booths in a simple grey tank top, jeans, and white running shoes, her hair pulled back away from her face with absolutely no makeup, she looked younger than her age. She picked up the menu and glanced through it. When she finally put it down, she turned and looked out the window. She smiled again at the quiet street, less cars, more people. She dragged her gaze from the window and turned to Mindy who worked at the counter. 

Her phone rang and she reached into her pocket and took it out, she smiled and answered the call.

"How's it?"

"It's absolutely beautiful." She answered with a small smile. "Thank you, D."

"Thank me by sending me some pages."

Lillian's smile reached her eyes as she'd expected that.
"I need to settle in first before I can get started on writing."

"Settle in?"

"The cabin's a little...rundown," Lillian said as someone walked into Mindy's in the background and started chatting with Mindy.

Deidre sighed.
"I should have figured. What are you going to do?"

"A little cleaning and I'll get someone to fix everything that needs fixing."

"Alright," Deidre said. "Just...hurry and send those pages."

"You got it." She said before she hung up and released a quiet breath and kept staring out the window.

She'd barely been here for a day and she could already picture herself living in a place like this. There was something about it that called to her lost soul, a soul she'd been trying to recover since she got out of the system.

Maybe, just maybe this was it. What she'd been looking for all her life.