Agnes – The Sun Will Come Out

And then one day, life was worth living again.

Life had become a routine for me. I felt like I was living in auto-pilot. Cornelia must have thought so too because she kept calling and calling. I knew that it wasn’t the best way to live my life, but it was what kept me going.

Without Erik, it didn’t feel like life. Everything was stale, like it had been left out in the open too long. Eventually, Cornelia stopped calling me. Despite the fact that her calling had annoyed me, I felt completely alone when she stopped.

I started reading again when the calls stopped. I had always liked books as a child and teenager, but once Erik and I started dating, I had other things to occupy my time. He had always known that I enjoyed reading and had bought me a book on every holiday and birthday. By the time we had gotten married, we had an impressive library.

Before I knew it, a whole year had passed since the drowning. The summer after Erik’s death was unusually rainy. In a way, it was nice because the gloom of the clouds suited my mood. But there was a restlessness that I couldn’t shake. It was as if a part of me wanted there to be sun and to go outside again.

It was while I was staring out the window one day that the idea came to me. I had been writing about all of my sorrow and anger since Erik had died. Why not turn that into a book?

Creating the story was easier than I expected. Characters and ideas appeared on the screen as I typed away. In only a few short days, my first novel was done. It was a romance, and a tragedy all in one. The tale of a young girl who finds love only to have it taken away. It was the story of me.

Since I had written the book, I figured that I might as well try to get it published. Much to my surprise, it was picked up by the first publisher that I approached. In only a week it topped the charts and became a best-seller. I had never dreamed that it would be that successful.

Unfortunately, that meant that I was successful. A national tour was planned so that I could meet my adoring public. People flocked to coffee shops and bookstores just to shake my hand and request an autograph.

I couldn’t go anywhere without meeting someone who had read my book. Their responses were almost always the same: “Your book is wonderful. So sad! I bawled my eyes out reading it. When is your next book coming out?” Next book? I hadn’t even planned on the first.

Even around Sunset Valley I was a celebrity. Cornelia dragged me to one of the local bars for the night, and I ended up spending half my time shaking hands. Everyone wanted to meet me. It was exhausting.

To escape the crowds, I retreated to my library and devoured book after book. I did my own house-cleaning and cooked all my own meals. There was no way that I was going to let a bunch of strangers come into my house.

I even started painting again. After weeks of rainstorms, the sun finally broke through the clouds. The world looked so beautiful and inviting. My balcony faced the ocean and was on the back of the house, so I had much needed privacy. I could feel the ocean and the easels calling to me.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed painting. I loved the idea of creating beauty on a blank canvas. Before long, I was spending almost all my free time outside painting.

Without much effort or planning, my life had suddenly become livable and meaningful again.

Generation 1 – Agnes Crumplebottom
LTW – Illustrious Author (master writing and painting)
Career – Self-Employed Artist

Chapter 1
Chapter 3