Moore Haven, Florida, was not an overwhelming city in any sense of the word. The population was small; the streets were crowded and small; and the mindset was small. Citizens rarely thought in terms other than how to provide for their immediate needs - there was hardly ever talk of leaving the town, especially spontaneously and with little reason.

So as Eden sat in her car that morning while meditating on her next move, she wasn't surprised to be soon approached by two individuals her family used to be close with. She was even less surprised when they questioned her rash behavior.

***

"Eden Edwards, well I'll be damned!"

The voice is outside her car, muffled by her closed windows, but when she looks up she spots Mr. and Mrs. Henderson walking towards her vehicle. They'd been well-acquainted with her parents once. Eden hasn't seen or heard from them in years.

Aware of the questions she's likely to receive, she suppresses an eye roll and instead bears a warm smile as she lowers her driver's side window and hastily stuffs the map into the floor of the passenger seat.

"Good morning, Earl," she calls, nodding her head at Mr. Henderson first and then his wife. "Hello, Betty."

"Morning, doll, where you off to?" Betty asks genially, planting herself right next to Eden's window and placing a hand on the door for good measure.

"Just out for a drive," Eden lies through a smile. "Had to stop for gas."

"Looks more like you had to stop for directions," Earl contends, nodding his head at the crumpled map on the floor of her car. Eden releases a heady sigh through her teeth. "Everything alright?"

"Just fine, Mr. Henderson," she replies cordially. "You're right, I did also stop for directions. My boss asked me to drop off something at his house but neglected to mention how to get there."

Earl and Betty exchange instantaneous looks of uncertainty, ones Eden doubts she was meant to see, before gazing back at her with suspicious eyes. Eden wonders if they've already heard about the fiasco at her job earlier or her subsequent decision to leave town.

"You sure you aren't in any kind of trouble?" Earl presses, leaning in close to her open window and dropping his voice to a low hush.

They definitely heard something, Eden thinks. She merely shakes her head, keeping her lips pursed tightly together.

"Honey, you can tell us," Betty encourages softly.

"I'm fine, honestly," Eden laughs awkwardly. Their scrutinizing eyes are starting to get to her. She grips the steering wheel securely for support, her fingers curling and flexing as her heart pounds away in her chest. "But listen, I've really gotta get going now, my boss won't appreciate being stalled like this. It was nice catching up though, I'm glad y'all are doing well."

Thankfully, this is enough to ward them off. Earl takes his cue and steps back from the window; Betty hesitantly relinquishes her hold on the door and Eden rolls her window back up. Without stopping to look at the map again, she peels out of the gas station and back onto the only road heading north out of town.

"It's not that deep, guys," Eden says aloud, replaying her conversation with the Hendersons over in her head. Her eyes briefly deviate from the road as she drives past a sign that reads "Now Leaving Moore Haven - the Friendliest City in America!"

Eden rolls her eyes. "More like the nosiest city. Can't a girl up and quit her job and leave town without being attacked?"

As soon as the words leave her mouth, she realizes how odd her circumstances must seem to outside eyes. She smacks herself on the forehead in exasperation; of course they had every reason to be skeptical.

"Great. They probably think I'm some kind of drug dealer or a prostitute now," she groans. "Why else would someone just up and leave?"

But then a different thought occurs to Eden; one that reassures her she's doing what's best for her. She's a good kid, leaving only because she feels suffocated by her life (or lack of one) and needs a resurgence of excitement; she needs to know her life matters, and the only way to accomplish that was by being brave and leaving behind the comfortable. And despite their kindness and concern, the Hendersons and everyone else in Moore Haven would never be able to understand that.

They were all content to exist - Eden wants to live.

Item Three - Take a Roadtrip
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please vote, comment, tell me your thoughts!

if you could roadtrip anywhere, where would you go??

Mine would probably be Mt. Rushmore or anywhere in Oregon. Cannon Beach looks so pretty