Mae stood at the end of the pavement, her eyes and heart heavy with sadness and excitement as she hefted her luggage into the trunk of her car. The bustling city that was once her dreams and protector, had now felt like prison bars being engulfed around her. In the past, Mae thought of the hums of traffic and the symphony of the city had been a miracle, a lullaby even, but now, It was too much to bear after her career flop.

As Mae hefted the trunk shut, walked to the drivers seat, and started the engine, she looked back in the rear view at the apartment she once called home, recalling the time she was once eager to move in. Now, Mae was begging to move out.

Each street and sparkling skyscraper held a different memory, flickering into Mae’s mind as she drove past the blocks, and the constant feeling of homesickness was creeping onto her as she went further from the city. Mae had to remind herself that this change to the countryside would be a once in an lifetime opportunity to reconnect with herself after all those years working without a break.

Overtime, she noticed how the grey landscapes shifted into a lively green one, with rolling hills, a bright blue sky, and open fields for as long as she could see. The more Mae drove, the higher her hopes were, and the more ideas and possibilities she had thought of delighted her. Instead of the buildings she expected to pop up onto the road, they were replaced with vastness of emerald forests sprinkled with wildflowers and grazing animals. It was the first time in years Mae had seen a deer.

After hours, and hours of driving, Mae drove into the woodchipped driveway of her new cottage home, surrounded by a thick canopy of leaves, and glimmering sunlight bouncing off of her face. Mae sighed as she parked, and turned off her car as she opened the drivers door and went to the trunk to grab her bags. She struggled bringing all of the luggage in, but once she grabbed the cottage’s key from her pocket and inserted it into the lock, a heartfelt smile crept onto her face as she brought her luggage inside of her new home, leaving her old life behind.