The morning came with a sunrise unlike any that Kacey had seen. She had gotten into the habit of getting up early to watch it from the balcony of her home in Lilywood, the one she had lived in for so long. If she had to be honest, all of her days felt the same. Beautiful, wonderful, but the same. Her work as mayor was getting too busy to travel as attention rushed to the little, growing town. It was a blessing, she knew, but there were moments of feeling caught that even an optimist like Kacey couldn’t deny.
She set her coffee (filled with milk and sugar, as always) down on the table beside her and walked back into her home as the sun took its place in the sky. It wouldn’t stay there for long-- she would return just after she picked up her mail. She could hear it dinging from up above, and it was sort of infringing on the morning she was trying to have. Her door opened, letting light spill into her home as she opened up her mailbox. The first thing she noticed about it was that it wasn’t from Lilywood. The address was unknown to her-- a rarity to Kacey. She knew every town around Lilywood, and sometimes it felt like she knew every town beyond that too.
Her heart skipped a beat as she opened it, half in excitement and half in anxiousness. What did this person want with her? The return address only said that it was from a ‘Dandelion,’ which, besides being her favorite flower, meant nothing to her. The letter itself was handwritten-- a nice touch, considering not many people hand wrote their letters anymore, especially in Kacey’s business. Her eyes quickly scanned the words, her mouth falling open a bit more with every sentence she read.
Hello from Dandelion Island! I’ve heard from miles around that you are one of the best people to have around when it comes to town management! While I want to create an escape for people everywhere, I cannot do it on my own. I need the knowledge that experience can bring, not just the kind that I have. While I know this is a lot to ask, I would very much appreciate you being a part of our island development team. However, it would require leaving your town behind, which is why I completely understand if you choose not to. Just know that you have a great talent, and it will shine wherever you go!
P.S. You will find one plane ticket enclosed in this letter, from Lilywood’s airport to Dandelion. Please don’t worry about paying me back!
-Dandelion Island’s Development Team”
She couldn’t believe it. They were inviting her to be a part of an island development team? There was a lot Kacey had done in Lilywood, but never did she think her name would be a part of the conversation when there was buzz of an island project about to happen. Just a few moments ago, she was thinking about how everything had been the same for so long. Now, she held a one of a kind opportunity, something that would turn her life completely on its head. She looked down at the letter, reading its words over and over again. Her attention drifted to her town, her beloved Lilywood. It was a strong town, Kacey knew it could thrive without her, and her friends would be there if it couldn’t... but could she survive without it?
Much later in the day, Maren woke up to the sun shining through her window. It was a usual habit of hers-- more time with the stars was much better than having more time in the day. She stretched her arms up to the sky and yawned as she stood, rubbing her eyes to wake herself up. Her shift at her photography shop would be starting soon, and she should most definitely be getting ready, but she couldn’t help but take another glance at the tiny watercolor she had painted of the stars last night. Luckily, it hadn’t gotten any worse since when she went to bed, but it didn’t look perfect either.
Maren was supposed to be letting those things go, but it was still difficult for her sometimes, to just hang it up on her wall and not worry about people seeing it. But she did, and she was able to turn around and walk outside, something she never thought she would ever be able to do. Even hanging up her art in her own home had been a pipe dream then. This month, it made four years since she first ran away from home. She had been twenty for a while now, a far cry from the scared sixteen year old who took the train as far away as it would take her. A strangely sentimental thought for a strangely normal day.
Down the stairs she went, and out the door, where she opened up her mailbox, unknowing of her new reality to come. There was one letter inside, it looked different from any other she had gotten. Her heart skipped a beat in a panic at first, but it faded when she read where it was from. Back to normalcy. It was probably a customer, like it usually was when Maren got unknown letters. Without another thought, she opened it to her brand new reality.
Hello from Dandelion Island! As you may have heard, we are developing an island to make it into the brightest place to be! We have some things covered, but we were looking for a talented artist to help with our design. Your friend, the mayor of Golden, was so helpful to us by sending in some of your pieces! They’re delightful, and we’ve decided that we need your help with island design! However, it would require you moving out to the island to help us full time, so we are totally understanding if you don’t want to join us. If you do, though, there’s a plane ticket enclosed in this letter, from Lilywood (I hope it’s close enough to Golden!) to Dandelion. Whatever you decide, I’m sure you will be a star just like the ones in your paintings!
P.S. I also heard you know a lot about the stars-- I would love a map of the stars over Dandelion, if you do move here!
-Dandelion’s Island Development Team”
They wanted her? Had they not seen anyone else’s art before? Maren was improving, she was much better than she was, but she was nothing special. What did they see in her? Did it matter? They saw it in her, whoever this was. But she had a whole life here, her friends were here... could she really do this? Deep down within her, she wanted it more than anything. She knew the answer. Maren wanted to move again, but this time, she would run toward a feature instead of running from a past.
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