The first eight chapters of Kindling will release to all subscribers on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week. Starting with Chapter 9, only paid subscribers can see past the preview.
Previously, Marcus and Leenie handed over the keys to their Fresno home, danced one last time to Purple Rain, and head to the airport. Read Chapter 2
Chapter 3: Scott and Kelly
Sofia, Bulgaria – August 2025
Kelly stretched her legs out over Scott’s into the bus aisle then read the street sign out the window.
Sofia: 150 km
They were about halfway between Bucharest and Sofia. Bulgaria’s rolling green hills, white-painted villages with red tile roofs, and the occasional roadside shrine decorated with plastic flowers passed by. Although she was excited to get to the mountains to hike the 7 Rila Trail outside the city, her mind fixated on how to get her Kindle.
She nibbled on the remaining almond supply. Could they return to Bucharest? All of the travel she’d booked was planned out and non-refundable. Could Scott go ahead on the hike while Kelly circled back alone? She nudged Scott.
“I’m going to call the hotel and confirm they have my Kindle,” Kelly said.
“But then what? Scott asked. “We’re only in Sofia for three days. Overnight shipping would cost a fortune. We’ll just buy you a new one.”
“It’s not just a device, Scott. It has the nick in the corner from Istanbul. All my notes. My screenshots. It’s my baby. I can’t leave it.”
Scott simply didn’t understand her obsession with the device. The Kindle held hundreds of favorite books, three of which she was in various stages of reading.
He found her book reading style inexplicable. “You can only read one at a time, Kelly,” he’d say, which Kelly found completely unreasonable. Different books are for different moods she told him. There was a travel memoir she’d been saving for Greece. She had to find out what happened to the professor in Amazing!, and there was a history of Bulgaria she’d downloaded specifically for this trip.
She could recreate the library via Amazon or through checking them out again via Libby, but she wanted her Kindle back. They had a relationship. This little device held her memory. Without it, she’d forget the quotes, sage advice and notes she’d gathered.
“You’re right about the shipping.” Kelly admitted. “It can’t catch up with us,”
From Sofia they were headed to Greece, then Dublin, jumping over to Maine and back to Texas, where they maintained their U.S. domicile. Their driver’s licenses were expiring, and they had a small window to renew them while in the States. Even if Kelly could convince the hotel to ship the Kindle to Texas, the new tariffs could make the cost more ridiculous.
Kelly decided to sit on the idea for a minute, and instead she logged into Facebook. Her Nomad Life group always needed her attention. Bots spammed the posts and new Nomad Curious followers asked questions hourly. She couldn’t leave the community she’d built alone for long.
“Remember Suzannah from South Africa? She’s asking about the ferry from Naples to Sicily. She wants to know if the rooms have shampoo. Didn’t the Singhs do that trip last year?” Kelly mumbled out loud as she sped through the comments in the group. Scott knew he didn’t need to answer. Kelly tagged Jiya Singh, hoping she’d help Suzannah quickly.
While online, Kelly reviewed the sales of her latest book on Amazon. Their global footprint offered a perfect solution for production and distribution, even if she wasn’t a fan of the platform. Sales were growing. While there, an ad for a new Kindle popped up.
She snickered. How did Amazon know? She didn’t need the answer. A new Kindle would cost over $150. Frustrated, she returned to her Facebook group.
A Time Capsule picture from ten years ago popped up: her friends, Jeffrey and Loretta, sitting at their country club enjoying a beverage. They had purchased a patio home in Florida. His retirement goal was to shoot a golf game score lower than his age. He retired one week after that picture, then he died the following week.
Kelly showed the picture to Scott. “Wow. Ten years ago. His funeral definitely triggered us. Rest in peace dear friend,” Kelly said as Scott continued listening to his concert. He nodded.
They had been like Jeffrey and Loretta. Working hard all year, gobbling up their two measly weeks of vacation, often with laptops in tow. Instead of playing golf, which never appealed to Kelly, they traveled. One week in Hawaii then another in Cabo. Or a week zipping through Paris and then a second in Rome. They’d return home exhausted.
Jeffrey’s death focused Kelly on the intention of joy, happiness and time. What would retirement look like for them? How could they make travel thrilling and not exhausting?
The more Kelly talked to Scott about traveling in retirement, the more the excitement built. Scott first said that there had to be a better way to travel than going back and forth to their house. They’d reviewed different ways to see the world; living on cruise ships, buying time shares, getting round-the-world tickets. None of these modes seemed to fit. When they stumbled upon the nomad style of moving slowly throughout the world as minimalists, their retirement ideas solidified.
Jeffrey and Loretta never got to retirement, thought Kelly as she touched Jeffrey’s face on the screen.
A red notification popped up on her phone taking her to the weekly Saturday post in her Nomad Life group. Everyone offered where they would be for the next two weeks. Tokyo, Bangkok, Seattle…
Kelly got an idea. “Scott.”
He pulled an earbud out of his ear. “Yes?”
“I think I know how to get my Kindle back.”
“Do tell.”
“What if I use my Nomad Life Facebook group? There are so many nomads there, traveling around the world, asking questions. Sharing logistics. People are really engaged about Nomad Life. I’m going to post the problem. Maybe I can engineer a series of hand-offs across geography and the members’ movements,” Kelly said.
“No one’s gonna do that. Why would they?”
“But everyone’s so helpful to everyone else. Why wouldn’t they want to help me? There’s bound to be a few who will be happy to jump in.”
Scott pondered the idea, then his eyes lit up. “I’m going to create a spreadsheet and call it ‘Kindle Relay.’ Let’s make it work.” He opened a new window on his computer.
Kelly loved a long shot. Being small and lightweight, a Kindle didn’t seem too much to carry and asking fellow Nomads to add the small device to their backpacks didn’t seem too extreme.
Kelly started a new post in her group.
Help! I left my Kindle in Bucharest, and I want to get it back! By chance is there someone going from Bucharest to Sofia? Or Greece? Dublin? Texas? I’m hoping the Nomad Life Network can help me get my favorite thing back into my hands. It’d be impossible to ship it ($$$), so I’m hoping a good old hand-off relay will save the day.
Who wants to help me get my Kindle back?
Kelly showed Scott the post.
He had the expression he got when he was calculating odds. He wasn’t pessimistic exactly, more a realist. Kelly looked at the spreadsheet he was forming on his computer.
“You’re asking strangers on the internet to hand-deliver your personal property across multiple countries,” he said.
“Correction: I’m asking fellow Nomads to do a favor for the person who runs their community.”
“That’s better. What if nobody’s going the right direction?”
“Then I buy a new Kindle in Texas and be really sad for a week.”
He considered this. “The group has what, 1000 members?”
“4000.”
“Those aren’t great odds. But you’re like a heat-seeking missile when you have a goal. I’m here to help wherever you need it,” he said, adding another column on the spreadsheet called, “Current Location.”
That was Scott’s version of optimism. She’d take it.
Sofia: 100 km
Next: we jump back to 1982, where Colleen has just arrived at an Arizona boarding school.
Author Notes:
I actually priced the shipping charges. They weren’t bad; about $75. But the shipper just wasn’t a reliable option. DHL and FedEx weren’t available. We’d have to rely on a Romanian shipper to transport the Kindle to Bulgaria in three days. They said they could probably do it, but I wasn’t willing to waste $75 on a maybe.
The first eight chapters of Kindling are free to everyone. Starting with Chapter 9, you must be a paid subscriber. Upgrade today.
Kelly's reason for wanting the Kindle back feels so real. I laughed out loud at this line: "But you’re like a heat-seeking missile when you have a goal." Such a fun setup! Makes me eager for the next chapter.