It was heavily raining Rosie was sitting beside the window seat in the bus, she was looking outside with some hope of ray. The rain stopped when Rosie stepped out. She was carrying a worn-out luggage. Rosie had reached her new home, she was standing infront of a small apartment building. This is going to be her next chapter.
Rosie was feeling anxious but still had the courage and took a deep breath, she finally got into her Apartment. In her bed room there's a mattress rolled against the wall. Even if it's not enough, to Rosie it felt this is the freedom she was longing for.
For the past eight years, Rosie had devoted her life to her ex fiance Edward, she had lost herself. Edward cheated on her multiple times and she kept forgiving him. On the other hand Edward was so cruel, that he always made her feel small, he never appreciated Rosie instead he made fun of her dreams. One day he asked Rosie to leave if she can't trust him.
Rosie decided to leave Edward and she got really desperate to find a job. She was willing to do any kind of work and then she got herself a job at the bookstore.
Rosie's phone was vibrating. She checked her phone it was a message from her mother “Have you reached honey? Do you need any help to unpack?”
Rosie felt joy and she replied, “No, mom I just got here. I can do it by myself, don't worry.”
It was the first night, at her new apartment. As it's a new place she couldn't sleep. After a long time, Rosie could feel peace in her mind and slowly she fell asleep.
The next morning, she was late amd reached the place where she's going to work. The bookstore on Zaflong Street.
When she entered the store an elderly man, came upto her and said “You must be Rosie, I have been waiting for you for a long time, I'm Mr. Bred. Welcome to Zaflong.”
Rosie replied, "Sorry Mr. Bred, I had lost my way because I am not familiar to this place." Mr. Bed replied "It's alright, don't be sorry. Come on, I will show you around."
Mr. Bred started to show her around the shelves, and gave her knowledge about the rules and regulations of the store. For Rosie this isn't her ideal job but she liked it very much.
In the noon some regular customers began to arrive. One of them was an elderly man he was searching for poetry books and Rosie helped him out, he was very generous they both chatted for a while about the old poetry books. On a different timeline, different people came.
After some time the shop was quiet again, Rosie was sitting on the counter she took a pen and paper. At first she was doodling but her mind fell into the past the time she was recalling their memories with Edward, the family planning they both once shared. She was wondering if he also thinks of her but then she came back to her sense and realized she must not look back, because she came to the new place to start over again.
It was almost evening, Mr. Bred came and locked up the shop. Rosie was about to leave but Mr. Bred called her out he said
“Rosie, you have done very well as your first time, it feels as if you're meant for this place."
This is the first time someone had praised Rosie, she felt the warmth in the words. Rosie felt grateful and looked into the matter to work with more dedication.
Days had turned into weeks, the place once Rosie found uncomfortable is the new familiar place now for her. After some time she finally found the courage to delete their old photos. She began to heal from her pain and after 1 year she completely stopped thinking about Edward.
One Monday, a man came to the store he was very nervous, he couldn't talk much and Rosie gave him a soft smile to encourage him which worked. The next day, he approached her.
He said “Thanks for smiling, it helped, if you hadn't I would have left the place feeling embarrassed."
Rosie again smiled. “Don't think too much, you are doing great. I know how it feels, I was an introvert before.”
He replied “My name is Jack, and you are...?” he reached for the handshake
She replied “Rosie.” she was looking into his brown eyes and they shook hands for a while didn't realize they were holding hand for a long time.
When they realized both of them were blushing, and they chatted for a few minutes. Jack told Rosie this is his favourite bookstore he used to come here with his dad, his father passed away last year so he stopped visiting the store.
Rosie realized that's why she never saw him around, as few weeks passed Jack became a familiar face. Whenever he entered the shop he would bring some snacks with him to share with Rosie, without realizing they grew closer day by day.
One afternoon, Rosie was on break she was sitting at the park nearby, she was waiting for Jack. Kid's were playing on the side she looked at them with gentle smiles. Her phone was buzzing she thought it must be Jack, she excitedly picked her phone then she saw it was a text from Edward. Edward texted her "I miss you, can we meet? I know it was my mistake, I swear I will change. Please text me back." Rosie was feeling confused was this is the text had been waiting for?
In a while Jack arrived he saw her in a terrible state he asked “Is something the matter?"
Rosie was feeling uneasy for a moment, but she felt safe around Jack so she opened up “Last year I broke up with my fiance now he's trying to come back. But I came to the new place because I wanted a next new beginning.”
Jack listened to her thoughtfully. He said “I get that, but you should follow your heart, someone else does not get the authority to control you. You should do as you please.”
For the first time, someone had understood her and she decided to block the number of Edward.
Jack said "So are you up for a dinner?"
Rosie replied "Of course."
Rosie in her mind said to herself “Here’s to my next chapter.”
The images are created with ai and edited with Canva
