Jamie's Nikes crunched through the red and brown leaves of autumn on his morning walk in the forest preserves. It was a sound that he loved to hear as he walked on his favorite path. He was a creature of habit; this trek was something he tried to do every Saturday and Sunday. On this crisp, sunny morning, as he enjoyed the fresh forest air, a glint of sunlight flashed from beneath a leaf-ladened bush, stopping his pace. Jamie knelt and brushed away some curled, dead leaves.

His fingers grasped a weathered pocket watch. He rubbed it with his fingers, clearing crusted mud. He could see that it had intricate decorations on its cover. He placed it in his pocket and headed for home. Once home, he used a toothbrush and dish soap to wipe away the grime, on the back of the watch he discovered markings that said, “American Waltham Watch Co., Waltham, Mass, 1892.” Jamie wrapped it in a soft cloth and placed it carefully in a drawer in his night table. 

He spent several evenings meticulously cleaning the watch. He found that etching on the cover was of a hummingbird in flight over a body of water and a faded inscription inside the cover said: " Follow your heart, chase your dreams”. Was this a sign? He disliked the monotonous drone of his life as an accountant. His dream throughout high school was to become a writer. He was editor of the school newspaper and won the school prize for the best short story, two years in a row. But parental pressure made him select a business curriculum in college which lead him to earn an accounting degree. Now he was buried under stacks of spreadsheets, analyzing, and corresponding with various field staff or outside sources about difficulties, discrepancies or other matters as directed and needed. Jamie felt that his once-flowing creative juices were drying up.

One Sunday afternoon, feeling sorry for himself, he sat down at his desk and pried open the back of the watch. To his surprise, inside was a folded yellowed paper. On the paper was a map and a single line, “Seek the hidden lake.”

The next morning, Jamie did something he hadn't done in years – he called in sick. Armed with the map and a backpack, Jamie set out to discover the lake. Following the map, he drove out of the city into the countryside. The map indicated a forested area with several hiking trails. Trail 5 was marked on the map. He parked his car, slipped on his backpack, and began his hike along Trail 5. It was a beautiful trail. He walked over rolling hills carpeted with wildflowers, crossed over a creek on a rickety wooden bridge, and after an hour, he came upon the hidden lake. It looked like a silver mirror, not a ripple or a wave. Jamie sat down, pulled a water bottle from his pack and enjoyed a cool swallow of water as he observed the beauty that surrounded the lake.

Jamie realized as he sat that the hidden lake was a symbol for his long-repressed dream. He made a decision. He knew it would not happen all at once. But when he got home, he pulled out the manuscript of a novel he'd started years ago. He began to read, to make notes, his creative juices began to flow. Now, he wasn't just reading; he was editing. He was crossing out paragraphs, re-writing sentences, and adding new characters. Whenever he got stuck, he returned to the hidden lake for inspiration. He didn’t know why, but like a muse; it sparked his imagination.

It took almost a year, but he completed his manuscript and sent it to an agent. To his genuine surprise, the agent responded enthusiastically wanting to handle his novel. Two months later, Jamie was meeting with an editor from a major publishing house. The editor said she had some suggestions, but she loved the story. "This is a beautiful story," she said, her voice genuine. "It has an honesty and rawness that's rare to find." She offered Jamie a contract not only for this book but also an advance for a second book.

The journey of a new life had begun. He would still be miserable at the Insurance Corporation if he had not found that old pocket watch, which led him to rediscover his dream at that hidden lake. Jamie is now following his dream one word at a time.