Maria was always that person who'd laugh if someone said she might lose her job she'd be like please i'm irreplaceable when talkin to her bestie lucy over lunch. The soup steam going up in the air like promises. Her fun personality and crazy energy made her like the heart of DremurAD LTD, a small marketing agency that felt more like family to her than work. Her desk was all decorated with sticky notes and motivational sayings and this little plant she named Peacock because of how colorful it was. Her workspace was her own happy bubble
But this particular tuesday morning felt weird... the sun was out but there was this strange vibe in the office. Everyone was tense there'd been rumors about budget cuts for a while and Maria felt kinda sick in her stomach when she heard the boss on the intercom
"Everyone please come to the conference room"
Alex was joking around like "LOL imagine if you got fired today Maria" and nudged her Don't mind me "who'd ever fire someone as important as you... you are like the heart of this agency"
"Right" Maria laughed tryin to hide how worried she was feeling "I'm glad you know i'm irreplaceable here, they need me and there's no way they can even think of sacking me... besides, what i've I done that would even warrant a sack? I'm very loyal and dedicated to my work"
Alex replied "yea, that's true... you're one of the most hard working persons here"
Everyone went to the conference room and Maria sat at the edge of her chair tryin to smile and be all positive but when Mr john came in and started talking she felt really nervous.
"Thanks for coming i have some bad news..."
It hit her like a punch when he finished talking Maria was one of 5 employees who lost their jobs because of the planned budget cuts she thought were just rumors and she realized Alex's joke had become real.
"Never say never" she said quietly to herself feeling the irony.
The next few weeks were crazy with job applications and getting rejected and awkward interviews. She kept getting emails like "thanks but we went with someone else" each one reminding her how her confidence was gone. Maria always thought she couldnt be replaced... She was one of the most confident employees when it comes to having no fear of losing her job because of how important she was to the agency, but now she was dealing with the surprised of life.
One rainy day around 2:25PM in the afternoon, maria was feeling down and found this cute bookstore downtown. She went in and it smelled so nice. The smell of the old and new books combined made her feel better. As she was looking around, she saw this board with flyers for events and one caught her eye "writing workshop find your voice" Maria thought to herself why not she always liked writing but never had time for it.
So she took out her phone and took a picture of the flyer. When she got home, she signed up for the workshop.
The date for the workshop reached, Maria went to the venue early and it was like wow a whole new world... When the workshop started, she started feeling better as the classes went on she met other people who loved writing too they shared stories and laughed and supported each other Maria felt like she belonged and was like wow this is what i needed.
Months went by and maria kept writing... she got more confident as she wrote more and more, she found her voice and it was awesome. She wrote short stories and stuff about her life, her struggles and good times and she was always excited to go to class and hear what people think about her story.
At the end of the workshop they had this showcase where everyone read their work, Maria was nervous backstage but the new friends she made at the workshop were all supportive. When it was her turn her heart started racing. She started talking "hi everyone i'm Maria and my story is about unexpected journeys" she was sounding like someone who was nervous but got more confident as she went on. The people in the audience were nodding their heads and smiling and Maria was thinking yes this is it.
When she finished everyone clapped and cheered her and she felt so relieved and realized shed found her voice again. the feeling was great.
After the show something crazy happened.. something she never imagined would happen. A publisher came up to her and was like "hey you've got a unique voice I'd love to publish your work" Maria was shocked like "uh what thats really amazing" and just like that her life was about to change.
"She immediately remembered the first phrase that came to her mind when her boss told her that her position was terminated "Never say never"" Maria laughed not believing it. In her mind she was like "is this really happening it feels like a dream"
Maria's book got published, it was all about not giving up and writing from the heart and dealing with life's surprises.
On her book signing day she was all set up. While she was there signing books for people who loved her story, she saw Alex her old coworker in the crowd, he was like "Maria is that you" and she said "never say never right" they hugged and Maria was so happy.
As she signed books Maria felt like shed found something she never thought shed have again life had surprised her in the best way... one she never saw coming and just like that Maria learned that sometimes the best things come from places you dont expect the surprise had made her life better and she couldnt wait to see what happened next.
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