Angela Agranoff - Sophia O'Malley 01 - Organized Blackmail by Angela Agranoff

Chapter 1
     
    Sophia Wakes from Hibernation
     
     
    Sophia O’Malley patiently smiled as her soft blue eyes watched a curious squirrel through a set of glass sliding doors. The squirrel was sitting on a wooden deck attached to the back of her cabin enjoying a warm fresh breeze. Sophia was enjoying coffee from her favorite brown and white coffee mug while watching the squirrel out the window. The squirrel seemed to Sophia to be captivated by the wind as it’s thoughts—whatever thoughts a squirrel could possibly think—to be in some deep far-away dream of peanut butter. “Very simple,” Sophia whispered while starting her morning routine. She started her day the same way every day in her exquisitely designed kitchen that was rustic yet modern; homey but eloquent. Then she noticed that the squirrel was actually mesmerized by the pinecone peanut butter treat she hung in the tree yesterday. “Nothing complicated about the life of a squirrel.” 
     
    After taking a sip of delicious hot mint flavored coffee, Sophia allowed her eyes to leave the squirrel and wander around the kitchen. She knew that if her husband were still alive he would have certain objections to her taste and how she renovated her kitchen in their dream cabin. She designed the kitchen to be inspiring and inviting to her. Sophia enjoyed organizing, but also found cooking to be an absolute delight.  No matter her mood, it was always the perfect time to try something in the kitchen. This was especially true in a beautifully inspiring kitchen. 
     
    Sophia still would get an ache in her heart when she thought about how much she enjoyed cooking for her late husband. And somehow, someway, life moved forward without him. Moving forward in difficult, stubborn, and uneven currents that at times would drag her heart down to a watery sadness that seemed to drown out any chance of ever being happy again.
     
    “No,” Sophia scolded herself, as a tear stung the corner of her right eye. “Not today. Today is a beautiful day. Patrick has been in heaven for two years now. He would scold me for sitting here like this.” 
     
    Standing up from a circular dark wood table that appeared rough but somehow smooth to the touch, Sophia drew in a deep breath. At the age of forty-two she was a woman who had successfully run an organizing business for the past twenty-years. As a child, she had always been a very organized person. She made sure her toys were in proper order, as well as the books on her bookshelf. Everything in her room was put in its place, and had it’s own little home. Sophia amazed her family with her ability to place her belongings in a location that seemed as natural to her as bee’s dancing on flowers. And as Sophia grew older, her ability to organize developed into an art form. 
     
    As Sophia continued to sip her coffee, she was brainstorming and making decisions she had been putting off for the last two years.  It was just easier to not think about letting go of Patrick’s belongings. She even started questioning what she had been holding onto of her own. Since Sophia recently made the decision to revive her professional organizing business, it seemed like the perfect time to evaluate her own way of living.  Sophia began to question why she kept her old toys and books. She thought there was no point in keeping old treasures that didn’t agree with her current age. Yet somehow, she couldn’t seem to part with the memories those treasures stored in her gentle mind. At the age of sixteen after the death of her grandmother, Sophia finally came to realize why people kept personal items from their past: memories. Sophia’s grandmother had given her a special silver heart-shaped locket before she died. Secured within that locket were memories. These memories would always connect Sophia to her grandmother. Sophia uses this experience to remind herself that memories are priceless. They are personally acquired through a person or object, and are