💛 Help Minnie Find Me

A forest adventure leads you to my secret hideout...

The moment you start reading, the world around you fades, and you find yourself in the middle of the forest. A redhead is lying face down on the ground. You instinctively know it’s Minnie.

Your heart lurches, worried that she’s seriously hurt—or worse—when she groans. “I’m bored out of my mind,” she complains. 

She’s not talking to you. No, she’s addressing the attentive audience in front of her. Attentive—but slightly disturbing—since she's talking to several dozen worms.

"Mia!" you roar. Your voice reverberates through the trees, and my name echoes around you as several birds take flight. 

Minnie startles and jumps to her feet, her eyes filled with hope. "Is she finally here?" Minnie looks around, searching for me. When she doesn’t find me, her face falls, and she lets out a dejected sigh.

You frown. "What's going on? Where’s Mia? And why were you…” you trail off and gesture vaguely at her muddied pink bodycon dress and the worms that are slithering around on the ground. 

Minnie grimaces. "Don't tell anyone you saw me talking to worms, okay? Not that there’s anything wrong with talking to worms," she adds quickly. “You guys are amazing. It’s just my mother always said… doesn’t matter.” She shakes her head. “Mia disappeared over a month ago. Vanished in a puff of smoke. Poof. Here one moment, gone the next. 

“One minute, I was hyperventilating outside Jewels Cafe.” She looks crestfallen for a second, then takes a deep breath. “And the next, everything around me just… stopped. It’s like we’re all stuck in limbo, waiting for Mia to return.” 

You frown. “And she hasn’t been back?”

Minnie shakes her head. “At least nothing bad can happen while she’s gone. But that's also the problem. Nothing can happen until Mia comes back. And unless she does, I'll just be stuck here, talking to worms, for all eternity." 

The thought is so horrible that you grab Minnie's muddy wrist. “We’re leaving.”

“Leaving?” Minnie gasps. 

You nod. “You and I are going to find Mia. Right now." 

You pull a frowning Minnie through the forest. She wobbles in her too-high pink heels, which keep sinking into the mud, as she tries to keep up. 

"Do you even know where Mia is?" Minnie demands. 

You come to an abrupt stop and Mini crashes into your back with a loud oof. "No, but we're going to turn every inch of this forest upside down if we have to," you tell her. "We will find her, and then we’re going to get some answers."

Minnie nods.

You walk for hours. Minnie sprinkles some Cloud 9 ½ potion on her feet, so they don’t hurt in her impractical footwear, and she can keep going. 

Birds chirp overhead. Every once in a while, Minnie flaps her arms, asking them if they've seen me. They have not. A few times, she gets on all fours, wiggling her butt while she speaks to a squirrel, asking for directions.

You almost give up when you spot a cozy cottage peeking out from amongst the trees. It has moss creeping up one side and a porch swing that sways gently in the wind. 

You spot me through the window. I'm on the couch, propped on a pillow, wrapped in a cozy blanket. 

Minnie grabs your hand and breathes, “We found her!” 

“We have.” You pull her toward the front door and bang on it. "Mia, open up!” 

"Please Mia," Minnie adds. "I can't do this anymore. I can't just stay in limbo for goddess knows how long. You have to help me." 

When I don't open the door, you take matters into your own hands. You're ready to break it down if you have to, but the doorknob turns easily, and you stop inside. 

"Mia," you say, your expression stern as you enter the living room. "Where have you been? I haven't heard from you in over a month, and neither has poor Minnie. Her story hasn't progressed, and she's been so bored she's crawling in mud." 

"I wasn’t crawling in it,” Minnie amends, cheeks flushing pink. “I was hosting the Worm Olympics.”

“With tiny javelins,” I add helpfully.

Minnie nods. “Mia, please help me. Zachariah's been trapped in prison this whole time,” she says, referring to one of her fated mates, “and Damien Starr hates me,”—her childhood best friend turned famous rockstar, who’s also her fated mate—”And I need to make Ash see that what he’s doing is wrong,” she adds, Ash being her third mate, a nerdy scientist who is either brilliant, or just plain mad, “and I haven't saved the fuzzies, or broken the curse my mother placed on me. I can’t live like this!” 

You nod. "Minnie deserves better, Mia!” 

"I know," I sigh. 

"So what's going on?" you ask. "Why aren’t you writing? Is it writer's block?" 

I shake my head. "I haven't been able to write since I got Covid.” I sigh. “I’ve had it before, but this time was… different… and I haven’t been able to write since.” I gesture at my old laptop. "Your adventure today is the first thing I've written in what feels like forever." 

"That was your idea of getting back into it?" Minnie frowns. "Worm Olympics?"

I shrug. "It just happened. And it's not like I can put it in the actual book." 

"I mean… you could," you tell me. I'm not sure if you're trying to be encouraging, or if you truly want to read about worms throwing toothpick javelins.

"It's a good start,” you tell me.

My heart warms at your words. Writing again—Worm Olympics notwithstanding—makes me feel alive in a way I haven't in over a month. 

I finally start to feel like myself as creativity flows through my veins.

I toss off my blanket and shout, "I'm back, baby!" 

Not a Vampire pokes his head out of the other room. "Wait, did you go somewhere?" he asks.

I grin. "In a manner of speaking."

He takes in my PJs and the blanket at my feet. "It’s a writer thing, isn’t it?”

I nod.

“Okay.” He glances at you and Minnie. “I’ll leave you to it.” 

He disappears back into his office and I pat the spot on the couch next to me. "Minnie, you and I have a lot to talk about. I’m not sure I’m ready to work on your story yet, but maybe we can at least talk about it a little bit. Help me ease back into it.”

“Should I change first?” she asks, gesturing at her muddy Worm Olympics dress.

I nod, and everything around you starts to fade until you find yourself back in front of your screen.