The Barista

• Suzy Goodwin, 8/23/2025
  My Barista illustration is a concept that has been in my mind and in work for over 7 years. I started her before I took a break from my large format painting on canvas back in 2019. I’ve been working on life painting and live portraiture small scale, but I’m glad to have the time and focus for my geek girls again. I’ve got a few good ideas brewing, and I’m working towards illustrating and writing short stories for each character. Below is an early sample of the Barista short story.

Few who wander into the misty folds of Mount Hood’s National Forest notice the café. It sits quietly among the pines, where the air smells of rain and moss, and the sound of waterfalls echo through the forest. Locals call it a place of stories—some currently whispered over coffee, others older than memory.

They say that long before the indigenous Chinook people walked these lands, a Fae Lord ruled here. He carved an enchanted spring into the earth, a hidden source whose waters have fed the falls for centuries. No map can mark it; no scientist has traced its path. It moves unseen, as if it knows it must remain a secret.

The Chinook elders tell of a spirit in the forest, a guardian whose gift is abundance—and a strange, euphoric peace for those who swim beneath the cascades. Fabled healing, too, for those the water spirit chooses to bless.

Behind the counter of The Enchanted Cup Café stands Isolde Ashwillow, the barista with eyes like deep water. She has a quiet strength, a luminous calm that makes people linger long after their cups run dry. There are whispers—of changelings, of a fairy princess hiding in plain sight. She smiles at the rumors but never answers questions about her age, her family, or where she came from. She only says she lives a small, simple life, and perhaps one day she will own the café she loves.

The café’s own story is no less strange. Some say it was established long before the pioneers, before the roads. Elders claim a great shaman once tended to the holy springs that disappeared from this land, and that anyone who drank from these springs could walk away with a life stretched longer than fate had intended.

And yet, the spring is lost. Or perhaps… it is simply waiting for the right soul to find it.

Blog Post Title Two

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Three

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.