A Bright Aura—An Inspirational Short Story
Art Direction and Photograph by: Catie Menke. Model: Melissa Dansoa.
Copy and Editor: Jeni Fjelstad
Model: Melissa Dansoa
Creative Direction: Catie Menke
The soft morning sun cracks through the spaces in the blinds and pulls Aura from her long night’s sleep. She sits up and scrolls through her playlist to a morning meditation, something she always does to start the day with the right energy. The affirmations float over the whispering music: “Soak in the quiet stillness of the morning. Let that calm carry you as you commit to be truly who you are today.”
Feeling freshly motivated, Aura leaps out from under the covers and picks her favorite outfit, a purple dress with pink lace tights and her red leather jacket. The bright colors reflected in the mirror match how she feels.
She’s been looking forward to this day for a while now. Her best friend, Sol, is in town, and they’re getting together for coffee. In a rush as always, she almost leaves her coffee rewards card on the kitchen counter. Outside, the clouds roll over the sun, turning everything a little gray. Aura lets out a sigh and halts, just for a moment.
She shakes it off, thinking, “today’s still going to be a good day.” She skips off toward the café, assuming no one’s around. Although most 23-year-olds don’t skip in public, Aura believes it’s an undeniably faster and more fun way to get anywhere, so when no one’s around, she goes for it.
She hadn’t even seen him. Embarrassed, she slows to a walk. “Right, calm and composed,” she thinks. “That’s what an adult’s supposed to be.”
She tries to remember the affirmations from her morning meditation: Was it to be still? Be who you should be?
She rounds the corner to the café, takes a deep, energetic breath, and opens the door. The bright, ‘70s coffee shop has a turquoise van with flower detailing parked inside, a loft up top with real vines hanging from the railing, and yellow tables with pink flowers. Ah yes, nothing can bring the mood back up like this place.
At the counter, she orders a salted caramel latte.
“Rewards members get a free bagel,” the barista mumbles, not even looking up.
“Sweet! I’ll take it!” Aura does a little happy dance, bobbing her head and rolling her hands around each other.
“Ugh, chill out.” The clearly under-caffeinated barista eye-rolls.
Right. Chill, cool. She pulls herself together. Moving slower now, she scans the room for Sol. He’s sitting in the back corner reading “The Vibe” magazine. She paces herself this time when she walks, sitting in slow motion.
They catch up with all the usual niceties and life updates. His calm voice and brown neutral clothes catch her attention, and her insecurities rise. Why couldn’t she be more like that? Their conversation naturally falls to silence as they take their last sips of coffee.
“‘Too much’? What could possibly make you think that?”
“Well, all morning, people have been telling me to calm down, chill out, be cool. Really it hasn’t just been today. Is there something wrong with being super energetic?”
Sol thinks for a minute. Choosing his words carefully, per usual.
“There’s space for your energy in this world,” he says. “I’ve always been jealous of how easily excited you are, how brightly colored your presence is. Some people don’t have that. Energy comes in so many forms: colorful, relational, physical, personal, creative. You’ve been gifted with all of it.”
She stares off over his shoulder and considers it. Sol studies her face so long she thinks he’ll take it all back, give her better advice on how to change herself.
But he jumps up out of his chair and jogs over to the jukebox. Aura’s never seen him move so fast, other coffee-drinkers start to stare. He flips on “Walking on Sunshine,” twists around to face her, and starts to dance wildly, arms flying and feet hopping.
She laughs. Maybe calm is overrated.
She joins him by the jukebox for a full-song random dance party, gasping laughter and spinning endlessly. When the song fades out, she notices the blank stares have turned to smiles, and the whole café claps for them, even the grumpy barista.
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