Wanderlust

Harley’s life hadn’t been easy. The town she’d grown up in never once loved her. She grew up around people that never practiced what they preached. People that used their religious beliefs and bigotry to justify their comments and behavior. She’d distanced herself from them. She’d found peace in solitude. She’d found peace in drawing away her pain. Her mothers death over twenty years prior changed her. It was her relatives that’d let their actions speak for them. Their intentions had been to ask her why she’d said things she’d said. Those things being the truth she was telling. Things they hadn’t wanted to be confronted with. She’d gone no contact after a “family meeting” where she shamed them for failing as family. They’d become nothing more than people she was related to. They’d not once helped her or Max after Piper’s death. Not once had they checked on either one of them when they were going through health issues. Everyone but them had done so. That Piper would be ashamed of them. 

She’d gone on with her life. Wanderlust had been part of her life for the last few years. She’d focused on drawing her way out. She wasn’t so sure that’d happen though. She’d saved everything she could. She’d sold paintings to various businesses. She’d sold most of them at the local Farmer’s Market. She’d saved every penny. Word of mouth was something she found interesting. Serendipity happened after a conversation with a prominent member of the community. He bought all of her paintings. He proudly displayed them around his office. He referred people to her when people asked. She created a website to sell her drawings on. She’d made business cards. She fully invested in herself for the first time in her life. She’d taken a leap of faith knowing it’d pay off. 

She’d taken a trip to Boca Raton for a week. She’d fallen in love with the area. She’d roamed around most of South Florida by the time she left. She wanted nothing more than to move somewhere in South Florida. Her drawings reflected her time there. All of which sold a few hours after she put them on her website. She’d put everything on hold after several health issues left her burdened with medical bills. She’d wanted to travel the country instead of moving to South Florida. Financial hardship burdened her more. The same prominent person she’d conversed with at the Farmer’s Market helped her far more than she could wrap her head around. She didn’t understand why he’d help her the way he had. He’d connected her to programs and people that were helping her. He’d encouraged her to keep drawing. Even when she didn’t feel up to it. He cited people connecting with her recent drawings that showed her pain and heartache. That people wanted any recent drawings. 

It was the opportunity she’d been hoping for. She spent the next two weeks drawing as she recovered. Drawings that sold for far more than she’d thought. Drawings that paid off the medical bills that she was responsible for paying. With money left over to get travel sized bare essentials. She saw her life getting better. She saw her life leading her elsewhere. She was finally able to start traveling four months later. Four months of drawing. Four months of making far more than she thought she’d ever make. Through her website and at the Farmer’s Market. The weekly lunch dates with Ben helped both of them. He kept encouraging her to follow her heart. He’d been one of the few people that believed in her. He was the last person she saw before leaving.