FINDING MARY

Chapter 5 — A Dream Worth Building

Chapter 5

By the time we returned to the motel, the sun was already beginning to disappear.

Mary couldn’t stop talking about Adrian.

“He was really nice.”

I smiled.

“He was.”

“And he gave me this.”

She held up the sketchbook.

“You haven’t even opened it yet.”

“I don’t want to spoil it.”

I laughed.

“You’re strange.”

She smiled.

“So are you.”

We entered our room.

I dropped my bag onto the bed and sat down.

For the first time in weeks, I felt like something was finally going right.

I pulled out a piece of paper and placed it on the table.

Then I began writing.

How much money would we need?

Which merchants should I approach first?

What goods would sell quickly?

How much profit could I make?

I wrote everything down.

Mary watched me from her bed.

“You’re really serious about this.”

“I have to be.”

“What are you going to do when you’re rich?”

I laughed.

“Rich?”

“Yes.”

I shook my head.

“I’ll be happy if we can just live comfortably.”

Mary smiled.

“I want a big house.”

“Of course you do.”

“And a car.”

“Anything else?”

She thought about it.

“A room just for my drawings.”

I smiled.

“Deal.”

She laughed.

I looked down at the paper again.

For the first time, I could actually see the future.

A business with my name on it.

A warehouse filled with goods.

Merchants coming to me instead of me chasing them.

Money coming in.

A proper home.

A safe place for Mary.

No more running.

No more fear.

No more wondering what would happen tomorrow.

I leaned back and closed my eyes.

I imagined myself standing in front of a large building with the name of my company written across the front.

People knew my name.

Merchants trusted me.

Mary was standing beside me, smiling.

Everything we had lost felt like something from another life.

I opened my eyes.

I smiled.

Tomorrow, I would begin.

I didn’t know how difficult it would become.

I didn’t know how much my life was about to change.

For now, all I knew was that someone had finally believed in me.

And I was determined not to waste the opportunity