When she reached the outskirts of town she began searching for a lift to the city. She stopped at farms and shops, listening for information and occasionally asking questions.
She began to realise her safest route would be to ride with the next clothing shipment that went to the city. local men were hired for the task, and she eventually learned where to find the driver hired for this month's shipment.
Along the way she had purchased for herself a compass, and a crude drawing of the land; with the northern mountains, local towns, cities, and the capital. There were a few directions written on the side; estimates on how many days travel between some locations, trusted inns and shops, and which places were considered safer than others.
Grateful, she thanked the man who sold it to her, and considered asking about crossing the mountains... but decided best to cross that bridge when she came to it.
Walking down the road now to find the driver, the day was turning to dusk, and she marveled at the colorful sunset sky. She could see the house in the distance, small figures moving about around it, finishing up the days work.
As she neared, her mind started recoiling, asking herself what in the lands was she was doing. Her feet kept walking, and before she realized it, someone spoke.
"And who might you be?" a deep voice said.
She turned and saw a middle aged man. "My name in Sonea, sir," she sputtered. "I'm from—I work at the factory. I heard you're our driver this month?"
"That's right, is something wrong?"
"No sir. I was wondering if you would allow me to ride along."
He stared at her. "Well that's an unusual request... running from someone? Haven't gotten into trouble, have you?"
"No... running to someone, I'd say."
He raised an eyebrow. Then, hearing dinner being called from the house, he asked "Why don't you join us for supper lass, I'm sure you have a bit of a story to tell."
She felt her stomach rumble in response. Feeling a little nervous, she smiled and accepted, following him down the path and up the steps to the front door.
YOU ARE READING
Across the Mountains
Teen FictionA coming-of-age Journey. :) This is a story about Sonéa, a girl who is learning to be brave and overcome life's challenges. It is my first book. I'm writing it in a sort-of therapeutic way: taking bits and pieces from my own life, and adding a sprin...
