The Witch Who Rents Out Her Courage
A retired expedition witch lends jars of courage to anxious neighbors. When her own supply is borrowed indefinitely, she must attempt an ordinary difficult day without making someone else braver first.
ImagineYourBook writes a fresh draft from this idea.
How it begins
Hester had faced ice dragons, three collapsing kingdoms and a customs official who considered enchanted socks an agricultural product.
She could not enter the village meeting.
Her courage shelf was empty.
Every jar had gone out on loan. A difficult apology. A dental appointment. A conversation with a landlord. Ordinary bravery, requested with the apologetic tone people used when comparing their lives to an expedition witch's.
Hester had said yes.
Now she stood outside the hall with a speech about the library roof and a heart behaving like a trapped moth.
Eli Navarro came down the steps carrying a box of books.
“Coming in?”
“In a moment.”
He set the box down.
She disliked being watched kindly when she had not decided how much to admit.
“I have misplaced something.”
“Would you like help looking?”
The question was so practical that she nearly answered.
Then she told him about the jars.
Eli listened without suggesting that a woman who had survived dragons should find a committee manageable. Hester appreciated this more than she could conveniently say.
“What would help now?”
She looked at the speech.
For years she had carried other people's first difficult sentences in a small leather case. She knew how fear could make a simple doorway enormous.
She had forgotten that knowing did not remove the doorway.
“Stay while I begin.”
Eli nodded.
Inside, chairs scraped. Someone argued that rain entering a library might encourage children to appreciate the outdoors.
Hester looked up sharply.
Eli smiled.
“Still want me?”
“Yes.”
They entered together.
She did not become fearless. Her hand shook when she unfolded the paper. She lost the first line, found the third and began there.
At the back of the room, three people who had borrowed her courage recognized the empty jar in her bag.
For once, Hester let them notice.
The roof needed repairing. Her speech did not need to be perfect.
Those were different kinds of work, and she had enough courage left for one of them.
Your idea. Your book.
Keep the spark. Change anything.
Create my bookCreated with ImagineYourBook. Free to use as inspiration.
Outline and characters
Develop this idea
Borrowed courage can make an action possible without removing fear or guaranteeing a good decision. Give Hester a specific wish she has delayed while helping others. Eli should ask rather than quietly organize her life. The borrowers can have sympathetic reasons for holding on, but the resolution needs a clear new arrangement. Cozy comfort comes from mutual adjustment instead of unlimited access to a generous person.
- Hester discovers her courage jars are empty.
- A routine errand becomes unexpectedly difficult.
- Eli asks what help she wants.
- Borrowers confess keeping the supply.
- A public event requires ordinary nerve.
- Hester mistakes refusal for permanent isolation.
- Neighbors return jars with honest explanations.
- She changes the lending arrangement.
- The event allows imperfect participation.
- Hester keeps courage for a private plan.
Characters
- Hester Rowe, 67. Retired expedition witch lending courage
- Eli Navarro, 50. Neighbor and librarian
Series possibilities
- Hester's former expedition equipment returns with problems less spectacular and more personal than its original adventures.
