The bell above the shop door chimed just as I finished arranging a shelf of sketchbooks.
"Good morning!"
A familiar voice echoed through the store.
Noah.
He walked in carrying two takeaway coffees, wearing his usual crooked smile.
"I come bearing gifts."
I laughed.
"You bought coffee?"
"No."
"I robbed a café."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
He stared at me for a second before sighing dramatically.
"...You were supposed to know I was joking."
"I did."
"You could've laughed sooner."
"I wanted to see how long you'd keep going."
Mr. Carver looked over his glasses.
"You two have been here for less than two minutes."
"And you're already distracting each other."
"We're boosting workplace morale," Noah replied proudly.
Mr. Carver shook his head, trying—and failing—to hide his smile.
"If workplace morale starts knocking over paint displays again, you're cleaning it."
Noah immediately pointed at Lila.
"She did that."
"It fell."
"You walked into it."
"It attacked me."
Mr. Carver sighed.
"I don't even want to know."
Lila laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth.
For the first time in days...
She forgot about the exhibition.
The morning passed quickly.
An elderly woman needed help choosing brushes for her granddaughter.
A young couple argued over which paint set was better.
One little boy insisted every color should be called "blue."
Even the red one.
Lila knelt beside him.
"I think this one's red."
He frowned.
"No."
"It's angry blue."
She blinked.
"...Angry blue?"
He nodded confidently.
"Very angry."
His mother burst into laughter.
Noah leaned over the counter.
"I think he's onto something."
"I've definitely met angry blue before."
Around lunchtime, the shop finally became quiet.
Lila carried a small sandwich into the tiny staff room at the back.
She had barely taken her first bite when her phone buzzed.
Elise
CALL ME. RIGHT NOW.
Lila frowned.
She immediately dialed.
Elise answered before the first ring ended.
"LILA!"
"What happened?"
"Check your email."
"Why?"
"JUST CHECK IT!"
"You sound like you've had six cups of coffee."
"I HAVE."
Lila laughed.
"Okay..."
She opened her inbox.
Her smile slowly disappeared.
Then her eyes widened.
"...No way."
"What?"
"No..."
"What does it say?" Elise practically shouted.
Lila read the email again.
Then again.
Finally, she whispered,
"I've been invited..."
"Told you!"
"...to attend the Blackwood Foundation Charity Exhibition as the anonymous artist."
Her heart pounded.
"They want me there."
Elise squealed so loudly Lila had to hold the phone away from her ear.
"I KNEW THEY'D LOVE YOUR DRAWING!"
"I can't go."
"What?"
"I can't."
"Lila."
"There'll be so many people."
"So?"
"What if someone asks me questions?"
"You answer them."
"What if I embarrass myself?"
"You won't."
"What if—"
"Lila."
Her friend's voice softened.
"You've spent your whole life hiding."
"You don't have to keep hiding."
Tears pricked Lila's eyes.
"I... I'll think about it."
"No."
"You'll come."
"I'll drag you there myself if I have to."
Lila laughed through her tears.
"You really would."
"I absolutely would."
After work, she walked home more slowly than usual.
The email stayed open on her phone.
She still couldn't believe it.
Someone...
Someone she'd never met...
Had looked at her drawing...
And believed it deserved to be displayed.
She wasn't sure if she felt excited...
Or terrified.
Maybe both.
That evening, there was another knock on her apartment door.
Mrs. Holloway stood outside holding a warm apple pie.
"I baked too much again."
Lila smiled knowingly.
"You always bake too much."
"I do."
"But I also know when my favorite neighbor needs cheering up."
Lila's smile faltered.
"Is it that obvious?"
Mrs. Holloway stepped inside without waiting to be invited.
"You've had that worried look all week."
She placed the pie on the kitchen counter.
"Now..."
"Tell me everything."
An hour later, after listening quietly to Lila explain the exhibition, the older woman reached across the table and took her hand.
"When my husband was alive, he used to tell me something."
Lila looked up.
"He'd say..."
'The biggest regrets in life don't come from trying and failing.'
She smiled gently.
'They come from never trying at all.'
The apartment fell silent.
Lila looked toward the email still glowing on her phone.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
It was time to stop hiding.
She clicked Reply.
Her fingers trembled as she typed only three words.
I will attend.
Then she pressed Send.
She had no idea that one simple decision had just changed the course of her life forever.