"One day you will wake up and there won't be anymore time to do the things you've always wanted. Do it now." -- Paulo Coelho.

- - - - -

Sunlight streamed in through the crack in the curtains. Sam's eyelids slowly opened and she squinted because of the bright sunlight. After a few moments, Sam sat up and stretched, reaching for her glasses that was on the bedside table. She slipped them on and got out of bed.

After completing the morning necessities and making the bed, Sam took out her running clothes and went downstairs.

Her Uncle was still asleep, which was different to his usual Monday routine. She made breakfast for herself and just as she finished washing the dishes, the house phone rang.

She walked over and answered the call, "Hello?"

"Sam!" it took two seconds for her to recognise the voice and her face split into a smile when she realised who it was.

"Hey, Megs. How you?" she asked.

Megan was Ian and Anne's daughter. She was thirteen. Megan had left Transville a week before school closed. Her cousin had invited her and Sam hadn't seen her for a while now; she missed her.

"I'm great. Is dad okay? He phoned last night but I couldn't talk, I was half asleep," she said.

"Oh, okay. He's fine," Samantha replied.

"He said something 'bout a mouse. What was he talking about?" she asked, confused.

Sam laughed. "He found a mouse in the house last night. He was a bit shaken up but I'm sure he's fine now."

"Oh. Can I talk to him?" she asked.

"He's still sleeping, sorry."

"Oh, that's weird. He's usually awake by now," Megs said. Sam could picture her confused face.

"Yup. I'm sure he'll wake up soon, though. I'll tell him you called."

"Okay. Thanks, Sam."

"No problem, Megs."

"I gotta go now. Bye, Sam," Megs said.

"Okay. See you, Megs. Have fun," Sam replied and ended the call.

Just then, Ian came down the stairs, looking tired.

"Who was that?"

"Megan. She wanted to speak to you," Sam replied.

"Oh. I'll call her back later."

Sam boiled the water in the kettle and put the milk on the stove. She took out a bowl and spoon and put it in front of him and took the cereal out, placing it on the table.

"I'm going out. I'll be back in about ten minutes," she said, looking at the time.

He nodded, still looking tired.

"Are you okay?" she asked him. He looked as if he didn't get any sleep.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired. I need some caffeine and I'll be fine," he said.

Sam remembered that they had ran out of coffee on Friday.

"I'll get some from the shop for you," she offered.

He gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Sam."

"Not a problem."

She left the house and jogged to The Square. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail and was flying from right to left, tickling her neck.

She came to Minute Stop and went inside. Immediately, the smell of baking and caffeine entered her nostrils.

Minute Stop had a cosy feeling to it. Some tables were round and others were squares, each had a strip going through the centre with a different colour for each table. The chairs were made out of wood and others were cushioned and matched the colour of the table. The walls were painted a dark brown with colourful paintings on each wall. The lights looked like lanterns and were placed on the walls, slightly dimmed. Three big, round lights were placed through the centre of the ceiling, in a line. It had a round covering that was brown with strips of colours that matched the tables.

Some tables were already occupied by people, drinking coffee or eating.

Sam walked to the counter and patiently waited her turn. Once she got to the front, she ordered a strong, plain coffee for her Uncle and a 3 in 1 for herself. She couldn't resist their baking and bought some of that, too. She thanked the friendly women behind the counter and left the shop, walking home the same way she had come.

She couldn't do her usual morning run today -- she would get late --, so she headed straight home.

She reached the house shortly after and, not being able to take out her keys because of her full hands, she rang the doorbell using her elbow.

The door was opened barely five seconds later and Ian shot her a grateful smile and thanked her when he saw the coffee and box, which was full of delicious baking.

They went inside and into the kitchen. She placed the two coffees and the box on the table, taking a seat opposite him. After drinking their coffees and eating, they got up to leave, realising that they were a little late.

Sam ran upstairs and took the picture of the bird that she had put on her desk earlier. She made sure she had her phone and went back downstairs to retrieve her glasses from the counter.

Not long after, Sam found herself in the shop. She was pleased to find that new staff were here and wasted no time in introducing herself and helping them. She noticed that Lucas wasn't here today and when she asked Ian about it, he replied, saying, "A lot of people work here part-time, so I can't have all the staff here everyday. I've got everyone in for twice or thrice a week to fit them all in without the shop getting too crowded."

Sam nodded at that, not knowing what else to do.

During lunch break, Sam used that time to get to know the staff better. She found all of them very friendly and nice. She learned some of their names -- most had left to nearby cafés and restaurants for lunch, so not many were here -- and took their numbers. She always liked making new friends.

After lunch break, she had nothing more to do and decided to take a walk around. Ian didn't mind and said she needed a break.

Sam went out of the shop and looked around, not really sure where to go. She sighed and went right, looking at all the shops she passed on her way. She deeply breathed in the fresh air and slowly exhaled. After a few minutes, she was standing at the border of the forest that she visited every single day.

Seeing no other option, she walked into the forest and sat down on a log, staring at the beauty before her eyes.

Out of the the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow, but when she looked, there was nothing there. Sam frowned and suddenly felt a little unnerved. She got up -- not feeling as safe as she was earlier --, but not before taking some pictures, and returned to the shop.

Having nothing to do for the rest of the day, she edited her picture and when she was halfway through her drawing, it was time to leave.

After doing the usual procedure, they left and returned home in no time. The thought of the shadow she saw in the forest still unnerved her, but she was pretty sure she had just imagined it. She pushed the thought away and sent a message to Steph.

Samantha: Hey, Steph. How you? Wanna hang out?

Not even a minute later, Steph replied.

Stephanie: Hey. All good. Yeah, sure. Let's hang out. Meet up at Fred's? We could have a snack.

Fred's had the best food ever.

Samantha: Yeah, sure. See you there in ten.

Steph and Sam met up by her house instead, seeing as she had to walk down the street and she was only coming out of her house then. Their plans were soon forgotten when she invited her inside instead.

They ordered pizza and played Call Of Duty: Black Ops ll. Sam ended up winning, which resulted in them playing countless more until she checked the time and realised it was really late.

"Steph, I need to go," she said, stretching her crossed legs.

"What?" it took a few moments for it to register until she answered, "Okay."

Sam got up and cleaned what she could before Steph pushed her away.

"What did I tell you about cleaning my mess?"

Sam laughed and hugged her. "See you, Steph."

She returned her hug. "Bye, Sam."

Sam walked herself to the door -- Steph at her heels -- and headed straight home. She wanted nothing more than to head straight to bed after this long day.

- - - - -

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