- Ch. 2 - Canary On The Road

When she calmed down from her sobs and wiped her tears, she picked up the satchel and immediately wore it.

She rummaged through it carefully and realized it was one of those bags that was bigger on the inside than in the outside. 'That Kent sure has thought of everything.'

After a sweeping gaze of her surroundings; of which mainly contained trees, Dinah went back into the tent and sat down while she held Conner to her bosom. She held Conner to her body with her left arm while she looked through the bag.

'A never ending bottle of milk, packaged sandwiches, a never ending bottle of water, and is that...', her mind went blank for a bit.

Dinah slowly took in a deep breath through her nose and out her mouth while she closed her eyes. With one of the calming meditation techniques she's learned, she calmed down within moments.

'How the hell did he get my bra and underwear sizes...?'

With a shake of her head to get rid of some unpleasant thoughts, she released another breath before she promptly stomped on that train of thought and used her inner Canary Cry to destroy it to smithereens.

'Magic, it's magic. Kent's not a perv. It must be magic. Think of something else...'

To help herself think of something else, Dinah reached inside and grabbed the map that Kent's letter mentioned.

With a flourish, she laid it out on the bedding in front of her and studied it. 'A magical map that shows me my orientation, I should've guessed. This'll be very helpful, but it's also a very rare utility item. I doubt I can show anyone what I've got in this magical bag of holding. Plus, I've got 1,000 Valis...'

With some more rummaging, she found what looks to be gold coins with a denomination printed on both sides that she doesn't recognize, in a side pocket. 'Any 1,000 of any currency on a person is just asking to be robbed. A single mother traveling with her son would look like a very appetizing target for some low lives. And these look like gold doubloons, or something. I'd have to be careful.'

'I'll have to follow this map and head to the city. If I'm reading the symbols right, then I'm approximately 5 km away from Orario. I don't know how much 1,000 Valis can get me, I don't know anything about this world, the political climate, the people that live on it, and the moment I leave the area the tent will disappear.'

*Sigh* 'By the position of the sun; and I'm just approximating here, but it looks to be mid-day at the moment. If I start walking and reach the road, then I can easily walk that distance. And if I keep my pace consistent, then I should reach the city within 30 minutes or so. I'd rather not be outside in the wilderness and in the dark without shelter. I can defend myself just fine, but I have Conner with me and I'd rather keep him safe than fight something my first day here with him in my arms.'

With her plan in mind, she cleans up and places all the things she took out of her satchel right back into it, except for the map.

Dinah stood up and left the tent with her son placed securely and held in her left side while she had the map rolled up and held in her other hand. After getting her bearings, she left the boundary without looking back.

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After a while, Dinah broke through the trees, and she found a dirt road that looked very well traveled. She could see hoof prints that belonged to horses, what looks like carriage wheel tracks, and boot prints in the well packed dirt road.

She opened the map and reoriented herself before placing it back into her satchel bag of holding and walked on. With both hands, she held Conner's sleeping and adorable form to her body and enjoyed his warmth.

'He looks so adorable in his little footie pajamas...', she thought to herself with a gentle smile as she began what felt like a new journey towards a new beginning.

There might be a hole in her heart from the death of her lover and husband Ollie, but her son Conner is slowly healing that void with his very presence alone. "Whatever happens, I'll always be with you, my sunshine."