New York City; Manhattan Skyline 7:00 am

September 12, 2019

"The Big Apple, New York City: The place where dreams come true and the place where I made my mark, It's kinda funny how life works when you really think about it, if I never took that step to coming here then I wouldn't be the person I am today"

"But I'm getting ahead of myself so hello readers my name is Cindy Aldridge a small town girl turned Professional writer and author and this is my story: The story of how a Small Town Farm Girl made a Splash in a Big City" narrates a long curly red haired young woman wearing a pair of thick rimmed glasses, Grey Suit Top and black pinstripe pants driving home.

oOo

Flashback to Five Years Ago Rosebud County

Aldridge Family Farm August 5, 2014 8:00 am

"Well I think that's the last of the luggage" I said packing up the final box into my truck then turned to face my parents as they looked upon me; a young woman ready to take on the world.

Ya if you can't figure out already the young girl with curly red hair, plaid shirt and brown leather vest with ripped jeans is me, my name's Cindy Aldridge, I'm 21 years old and about to leave home for the first time so I can try making a life for myself in the big city, oh and the two people that I'm having the emotionaly stare off with are my parents. The man with tan skin, messy red hair, muscular build and wearing torn clothes from the waist down is my dad Rick Aldridge; a very stern man who very rarely shows any emotion in front of me but deep down I know he cares. The woman with blonde flowing hair and wearing the white and blue sundress is my mom Rachel Aldridge and in contrast to my dad she's never afraid to show how much she cares about her family

"Well mom, daddy I'm off" I said with a bit of awkwardness in my voice.

"Be sure to call every now and then AND if you meet a BOY be sure to bring him back to the farm so I can meet him" my father said in his usual stern demeanour.

"I will daddy" I said smiling then looked over at my mom who was crying her eyes out.

"And...Be S..Sure to take care of Y..Yourself and remember you'll always have a home here" said my mom through sobs as I walked up to her and wrapped my arms around her in a bear hug

"Don't worry mom I'm an Aldridge we're fighters and trust me I never go down without a fight and don't worry I'll still visit" I said almost in tears myself as I let go of Mom walked over to dad

"Part of me wants to keep you here" dad thought in a very worried inner voice.

"Daddy I know you don't want me to go" I thought kissing him on the cheek and giving him a hug.

"But I know you have to do what your heart wants" my dad thought to himself with a relenting inner voice

"Yet I hope you can understand that this is what I want" I thought letting go, getting in my truck and looking back one more time before starting the engine and taking off down the road

"Stay safe honey" whispered my dad comforting my mom who was crying uncontrollably

Montana Farm Road

"I can't believe I really just did that!" I thought as a feeling of excitement overwhelmed me as I drove through the Montana farmlands making my way out of Rosebud County.

I began taking a deep breath to calm myself down "Okay, Okay calm down Cindy Jane Aldridge..." I thought grasping firmly onto the steering wheel with a confident smirk plastered across my face

"Starting right here and right now, my new life begins"

And it did for this was the start of an adventure for me that would contain many highs and lows, happy moments and sad moments, love and heartbreak, friendship and just an overall eye opening experience to a world until that moment I was blind to

oOo

It didn't take long for me to reach the outskirts of the Montana farmlands where I met the first person who I would later call my best friend cause not far from where I was driving a girl with brunette hair tied in a ponytail wearing a green lumber shirt underneath a brown puffer vest, cream boots and brown camo pants was hitchhiking through Montana

Fran POV

"Well it's official I'm lost, nice going Fran you consider yourself a hitchhiker and you get lost on a mountain road" I thought in utter frustration rubbing my brow then walked to the side of the road and held out my arm with a thumbs up

"Well I guess I better do what hitchhikers do best and bump a ride off the first person who sees me or even cares enough to stop"

I thought that with very little eagerness as I was well aware that very few people ever wanted to help me out. It was only ever in the movies that Motorists genuinely liked helping Hitchhikers. I did pray someone would help thought cause even my pack was starting to get heavy

(5 Minutes later)

Cindy's POV

And then this is at the point in the story where we met but lets just say my initial reaction was less than friendly cause with a raised eyebrow I simply said:

"Hello...What's this all about?"

And yet despite that an innate reaction set in and I stepped on the brake...That's essentially how our meeting began as I sat there tapping on the steering wheel overthinking the whole situation.

"Okay Cindy so you just stopped for a hitch hiker you don't even know I suppose it's only right to go out there and see what's wrong right?"

I ended up so lost in thought about what I'd just done that I ended up randomly thinking of how this whole situation seemed like an oddly familiar scenario

"Why is it this set up seems like one of those old horror movies my dad loves to watch" I thought with a hint of dry humour as I very slowly got out of the car and walked towards her.

It was weird but a funny feeling came over me with each step I took almost as if the closer I got to Fran the more relaxed and I suddenly got so relaxed to the point where I started thinking of all the different ways I could have fun with this situation to the point where I just outright said with a hint of snark in my voice

"Hey you okay? you look a little lost"

Fran didn't waste any time as she turned to address me with an obvious but calmed panic spread across her face

"understatememt of my life" she said with her hand slapped over her forehead as I stood there silently with my arms crossed, raised eyebrow and a cheeky smile

"Okay so long story short I was hitchhiking to the next town and all of a sudden I got lost and I'm in need of a ride" Fran said as she was rubbing the back of her neck as if she was embarrassed.

I immediately took advantage of the situation as an evil grin spread across my face and started talking

"I dunno...How can I be sure you won't try to kill me while traveling together?" I said almost immediately covering my mouth to hide the fact that I started giggling like a schoolgirl.

Fran on the other hand...Well lets just say she had the first of many what everyone of us inevitably called: The Fran Freakout

"WHAT!!HeavensnoI'mjustasimpleCamperandHitchhikerIdon'thavethegutstokillanyoneoranythingIloveallhumansandanimalsthat'swhyI usuallyalwayscarrycannedfoodwheneverIgo campingcauseI'mtoosqueamishtokillanythingnotevenamouseand...."

Of course during the whole time she was talking nonstop, trying to defend herself without even taking a breath I was basically in stitches not even trying to hide the fact I was actually joking with her. It wasn't until I finally was sane enough to look up that I noticed Fran with her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face

"You're making fun of me aren't you?" she said blatantly annoyed by my little joke as I slowly began to compose myself

"Ya I'm sorry I just couldn't resist, my names Cindy and if you want I can offer you a lift" I said introducing myself in a reassuring tone while finally standing up straight and extending my arm

"Name's Fran and that would be amazing if you could" Fran said taking my hand as her mood quickly changed from annoyed to eager by the fact that she finally had a ride.

"So lets get going" I said as we headed to my car.

It took a bit of effort in getting her huge pack into the backseat of my car but we managed it and soon we were off on the road again. Of course Fran being as talkative as she is endeed up being the first one to immediately break the ice not even five minutes into travel

"So if I may ask what's a homegrown farmer girl like you doing way out here Cindy?" She asked with an enthusiastic curiosity

Of course me being the ever lovable country scamp that I am just had to retort with a snarky remark before answering

"What makes you think I'm a Farmer Girl?"

Fran of course just looked at me with a roll of her eyes like she was about to state the obvious and retorted back

"Call it a hunch, plus I'm a Hiker and a Camper I can tell when someone's been outside all their life like ragged clothes, calloused hands, mud-caked boots..."

I simply shrugged at her answer as if it was an analysis that was hard to argue with and responded back

"okay you got me but to answer your question I'm leaving the life of a farmer behind and heading to New York to start a new life for myself as an author"

"That's quite Ambitious but I'm not about to tell you you can't do it either" Fran said with a hint of surprise in her voice

I briefly looked over at her with a confident smile before turning back to the road and raising my arm as if I was flexing a muscle

"Trust me when I say I've got stubborn blood in my veins and we Aldridges don't quit until we've accomplished what we've set out to do"

Then I did the craziest thing I had ever done in my life: I stuck my head out the window and yelled out a personal declaration at the top of my lungs

"HEAR THAT WORLD!! CINDY ALDRIDGE IS COMING FOR YA!!"

And thus with Fran tagging along my adventure had truly begun and lets just say this is only the beginning of my very long, exciting and difficult journey through my new life...Ah but those are tales for another time