Alex sat alone in the empty house, the ink still fresh on the paperwork that lay on the coffee table. The walls, once filled with laughter and shared dreams, now echoed with the silence of a life paused. She found herself at a crossroads, her identity untangled from the roles she had played for years—wife, partner, lover, caretaker.

She picked up an old photo album from the shelf, its pages filled with memories of a younger self. One who went on adventures with her friends, her heart light and her spirit free. That version of herself who had dreams, ambitions, and a zest for life seemed to have been lost somewhere along the way.

She missed that woman.

She turned her attention to one of the boxes, inside it a gift from long ago. She unwrapped it and found a beautiful notebook. it was a gift from a friend given years ago with the encouragement to document her adventures and dreams. Yet like many things meant for herself, it had been set aside and lost in the shuffle of daily life. But today it called to her. A blank canvas awaiting her thoughts.

With a deep steadying breath Alex picked up the journal and a pen the first page crinkled slightly under her touch. Its pristine surface intimidating yet beckoning

“Day 1” she wrote hesitantly, her handwriting a bit shaky.

It's a new dawn