Janet closed the front door of her house and leaned back against it in despair. Another dreadful blind date had been and gone with a man she never wished to see again. Perhaps it was too soon after the divorce to think about finding someone else to share her life with. Maybe it was her destiny to remain on her own. Her friends encouraged her to get out and meet new people, but none of the men they set her up with suited her. This one had only been interested in talking about himself, a bit like her ex-husband. She didn't want to repeat an old pattern which had brought her nothing but unhappiness.
She looked around her small house, which was all she had been able to afford after they had sold the home they had shared for 32 years, and resented its meagre size. Being near the sea was all very well but it was damp in winter and there were too many tourists in summer. Right now it was raining. She could hear it rattling against the window panes. She hated the rain. It made her hair frizz.
She switched on the TV and listened half-heartedly to a game show as she took a bath and changed for bed. Wallowing in misery, she replayed the low points of the evening as she brushed her teeth and slipped between the sheets.
The following dawn she awoke with the usual heavy feeling in her stomach, dreading the day ahead. She worked in a local gift shop. It was next to a cafe where she had a cup of coffee every morning before she opened up. On this particular morning, she chose a table by the window. There was a magazine lying open on it, displaying an article titled The Law of Attraction. At first, she thought it might give her a few tips on how to attract a man, but when she started reading it, she realised that it was about something totally different.
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