The Woman Who Chased Sunrises

When the sun first appeared over the horizon, it appeared as though the earth was still asleep, and the early light had a way of covering the area with the most drab shadows. However, that morning was unique.

As if by reflex, her eyelids fluttered open as she woke up in the silence before her alarm. This awakening was strange—something inside of her had roused, forcing her from the comforting cocoon of slumber. She wanted to get out of bed and go outside for the first time in years. It might have been the weariness of her daily schedule or the burden of too many restless evenings spent browsing through endless feeds of other people's joy. Or perhaps it was the hints of an unidentified need that had just begun to grow inside of her. She was unable to describe it. She only knew that she was being drawn in the direction of the entrance.

With the exception of the faint buzz of faraway traffic, the city was still at this hour. As Lila went outside, the lamps' gleam bounced off the damp pavement. It was one of those chilly mornings that caused her breath to rise in a mist. Despite having lived in the neighborhood for years, it felt strange, as if she had never actually seen it before.

Her sneakers crunched on the gravel path leading to the hill as she went idly toward the town's edge. She was unable to resist an unsaid tug that caused her feet to walk on their own. Her world had felt boundless and full of possibilities when she was a child, but she had not been up here in years. That was before the grind of work, deadlines, and a city that never seemed to stop, before the monotony of adulthood had set in.

She stood for a while, allowing the wind to pull at her hair as she reached the top of the hill. Here, it was colder, and the valley was covered in deep shadows from the early morning light. She had lost sight of this place's potential beauty. A odd sense of quiet, as if the planet were holding its breath, replaced the weight of the city for a brief moment.

Lila's breath froze in her throat as the first rays of dawn stretched over the sky. As though relishing the occasion, the sun itself appeared reluctant to rise. The deep purple horizon gradually gave way to gentle pinks, oranges, and bright yellows. Once heavy and drab, the clouds were now painted with vibrant colors that swirled and changed in response to the light. Before her eyes, a silent, slow miracle was taking place.

Despite the fact that her jeans were wet from the dew, Lila chose to sit on the cool grass. She had a peculiar mixture of amazement and calm as the weight of the occasion descended upon her. Of course, she had seen sunrises before, but never to this extent. This morning felt like a gift, a secret revealed only to her, rather than merely an occasion. As the minutes went by, the sky started to shift, the hues vanishing into the daylight, but she still wanted to cling to it, to preserve the beauty of this little moment. The magic was broken as the world around her came back to life.

However, something had changed within her. She had been deeply moved by that fleeting experience of beauty and the uncomplicated perfection of nature. She was unsure of the precise nature of it; it might have been a realization or a desire. However, she realized she could not return to her life as it had been as she made her way back down the hill to her apartment. More of this was what she needed to see. More of the world. More sunrises.

Lila was determined to witness another dawn, so she got up early the following morning. She traveled to the coast by train this time, away from the glass and concrete of the city. She discovered a peaceful beach with immaculate footprint-free sand. As she waited waiting for the sky to shift again, the ocean murmured in the background.

And once more, as the sun slowly slipped over the horizon, everything appeared to stop. There was more to life than the grayness of her daily routine, and the colors, light, and air made her feel as if the daybreak was offering her another chance. Somewhere the sun was always rising, yet it was also always setting. offering fresh starts all the time.

For Lila, seeing a fresh sunrise every morning became a routine. Every one is in a different location, slightly different, but always stunning. She visited peaceful lakes in the countryside, deserts, and mountain ranges. Watching the sun rising over the world below, she scaled the tall rocks. She witnessed the light shining through the snow-capped summits of the Swiss Alps, rising over the rice paddies in Bali, and peeping through fog in the Scottish Highlands. Although each location was unique, they were all united by the daybreak.

She encountered tourists, artists, and nomads who were all seeking their own definition of beauty. Some were searching for the ideal moment for a snapshot or the greatest inner tranquility, while others, like Lila, were chasing sunrises. They would tell each other tales of their travels, lessons learnt, and losses suffered.

Lila sat with an elderly jewelry vendor at the market one evening in a Moroccan tiny town. The woman had eyes that seemed to see straight through her, as if she could peer into Lila’s soul.

While they watched the sun set, the woman said, "You are looking for something."

Lila gave a nod. "I believe I am."

The woman gave a soft smile. "However, the sunrise will never provide you with what you seek. The beauty you are looking for resides within of you, not in the sky. It has been there all along, just waiting for you to notice.

Lila was extremely affected by the remarks. Something inside her started to fall apart, and she was at a loss for words. Yes, the sunrises were lovely, but was that all there was to it? Would pursuing the world's beauty truly satisfy her inner void?

Lila started asking herself more difficult questions as she went along. What was she genuinely seeking? Was there calm? Was it an adventure? Or was it something more profound, something that was beyond her grasp or the scope of a picture?

Then, one morning, Lila was by herself as she watched the sunrise in a little New Zealand beach community. It was equally compelling as some of the others she had seen, just less dramatic. A gentle realization dawned over her as the first rays of the day hit the ocean. Now she got it. Sunrises were not the solution. It was impossible to pursue or seize the beauty of the world or life itself. It was found in the peaceful and transient moments, the impermanence of things, and not in the sunrise or sunset. Something that was never intended to be held had been her goal.

Lila had changed by the time she got home. She did not have to look for the next lovely moment or pursue the horizon anymore. She had discovered serenity within herself, rather than in the outside world. She found beauty in the little things, like her friends' laughing, the quiet of her own heart, and the way the light in her neighborhood streamed through the trees. If she took the time to notice, the world was always changing and giving something new, which is why it was beautiful—not because it was always remarkable.

Lila gave up pursuing sunrises as a result. She started pursuing the moments instead, the ones that arrived subtly, without much fanfare, but that contained the same understated beauty that had once carried her to the furthest reaches of the world.