CHAPTER 4

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“Your core, lying deep within you, is what makes you what you are. Some call it the soul, the Higher Self, the true self, the being and so on. The name is unimportant once you realize that you are more than your looks and outward appearance.” --Stephen Richards.

~

Autumn stared at the bundle of papers in her hand. Each word typed on every sheet of that bundle was very dear to her. She had spent four years writing that story. She was proud of it. But, not proud enough to have it published.  Every time she thought that it came close to being good enough to actually become a book, there would be this nagging feeling in the back of her mind that it wasn’t a great story that would overpower the little amount of instantaneous confidence.

She sighed, momentarily closed her eyes and thought ‘maybe one day’, then quickly put the bundle into a drawer.

“What are you still doing here, Autumn?” Denise questioned her as she walked out of her cabin and peered into Autumn’s cubicle.

“I’m still not done sorting through your manuscripts.”

“There’s a lot, isn’t there?”

“Yes.” She quickly added “Not that I’m complaining!”

Denise grinned at her. “Just take a break would you? You’ve been at this for hours!”

“No, I’m fine, really!”

Denise pulled Autumn’s hand. “Just go for a walk. Five minutes. I’m your boss. You have to do as I say.”

Autumn smiled. “Alright, boss.” She said, grabbed her phone and walked out of the building.

She reached the park which was half a block away and sat down under a tree. She checked her phone.

What she saw overwhelmed her. First she thought the long day was taking a toll on her. She thought she was dreaming.  Then she looked again, and again. ‘Nope’, she thought, ‘This is definitely happening.’

She had gained over fifty thousand followers on Twitter.

She clicked on the mentions. ‘That’s a lot’, she thought, surprised.

She knew she shouldn’t read the tweets. She knew she wouldn’t be able to handle any sort of criticism. But, she also knew that she wouldn’t be able take the suspense. She knew she hated being curious about something.

So, she scrolled through the mentions, slowly. Her eyes were wide, focused. They did not blink.

After a few tweets she switched off her phone. Stood up, took a deep breath and began walking back to her office.

When she reached, Denise was still there. “I was just about to leave. I just wanted to remind you that there’s a fundraiser this weekend. This is going to be your first one. Dress classy.” She winked.

Autumn was too distracted to understand anything. She nodded. “Do you think I can finish off all the work tomorrow?”

Denise looked at Autumn. She sensed her distress “I don’t see why not.” She said.

Autumn nodded and gave her a brief, grateful smile. She took her purse and made her way out of the office.

#

The clock showed 10:00 pm.

Scarlett called her roommate. Her phone was switched off.

“Dammit!” Scarlett said, annoyed.

She held one hand on her hip and the other on her forehead, thinking. There was sound throbbing in her temples.

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