When the bus stopped at the old bus station, Yulia's heart began to beat faster. This place was painfully familiar to her: the narrow streets that she ran along as a child, the park with peeling benches, and her grandmother's house, where the whole family came every summer. Memories came flooding back, mixing joy with a slight sadness.

Yulia went for a walk. First, she stopped at a local bakery, where they still baked her favorite cinnamon buns. The owner, an elderly woman, smiled when she recognized her and treated her to fresh pastries. This gesture brought Yulia back to her childhood, when the world seemed simpler and the future brighter.

Then she walked through the deserted park. She sat down on a bench, opened her notebook and started writing:

"This is where I felt freedom for the first time. Why am I so afraid of it now?"

Yulia realized that her fatigue and emptiness were not due to external circumstances, but from the fear of following her desires. She had been trying to live up to someone's expectations all her life, but she had never asked herself: "What do I want?"

The next day, inspired by new thoughts, Yulia decided to stay in the city for a couple more days. She found a small studio where a local artist was holding painting workshops. Yulia had never painted before, but holding a brush in her hand, she felt something inexplicable - the lightness and interest that she had been lacking for so long.

Every line, every stroke was like a conversation with herself. She poured out on the canvas everything that she had been holding inside for a long time: disappointments, fears, dreams. The artist, watching her, only said:

— You paint as if you are looking for something important.

These words sank into Yulia's soul. She realized that her journey was not just a trip, but a search for her true self.

Before leaving, Yulia climbed a hill overlooking the city. The wind ruffled her hair, and her heart beat calmly. For the first time in a long time, she felt that she was going in the right direction.

"Maybe to find yourself, you just need to allow yourself to be?" she thought, closing the notebook.

Yulia did not yet know that new meetings, discoveries and, perhaps, radical changes awaited her ahead. But she was no longer afraid, because from that moment on, the path to herself became her main guide.

To be continued…