Chapter Eight – A Simple Map

Dana was splashed in the face by someone. What?! She wiped the water out of her eyes and looked around. She was in the backyard of her house. Looking around she was confused. She was just sitting in a wagon now she is here? How is this possible? Dana's father was there watering the garden. He waved the garden hose her way again, almost splashing her a second time. Dana dodged the water and shouted, "Hey quit it!"

"What?" Dana's father protested, "It's hot outside. I thought you needed to cool off?"

Dana did not answer him. She was beyond confused. How was she home right now? She walked around the yard looking at everything. The old sand box, the tire swing, even the grill was all there. Nothing was out of place. Dana didn't understand how this was possible, but she was okay with it. She walked over to her father and asked, "Where is mom?"

"She is inside. You should go inside and cool off. Unless you want some more water?"

Dana shook her head quickly and said, "No thank you." She turned toward the house and started to climb the steps. But before Dana made it to the door, she heard a sound. A doorbell? No, it's a ringtone. It was her dad's ringtone. Dana turned back to her father as he was answering his phone.

Dana's father began a conversation with someone on the other line. Whoever he was talking to was having a bad day. Sadly, Dana could only here half of the conversation. He said, "What's wrong? Calm down, tell me what is happening? How? Relax, we can fix this." Dana's father was having a conversation with someone on the other line. Whoever he was talking to was having a bad day.

Dana watched as the whole thing unfolded. Suddenly the sun disappeared. The backyard was bathed in darkness. Dana looked up. Is this an eclipse?

*

Dana awoke as the sky grew darker. She was still in the wagon. But it wasn't nighttime, Charles had just pushed the wagon into a cave of some kind. Charles saw her wake up and said, "Okay darlin, rides over." Dana took a moment to realize she had fallen asleep in Charles's wagon. But after regaining her senses she struggled to get out. Dana's legs had fallen asleep, so Charles helped her up without flipping the wagon over. Dana's legs wobbled with numbness. Not the most comfortable ride. Dana walked funny trying to get her legs working again. Charles slowed down so she could keep up with him. After a few seconds, he asked, "So, how was your nap?"

Before Dana could answer she looked around at the interior of the cave. Large stacks of wood and dirt aligned the walls. On the other side of the room was large cages of glass bottles. Why are they in cages? Is this a zoo? There was no one else besides Charles. Finally, she spoke, "It was good. What is this place?"

"It's the recycling center. This is where we are going to strike it rich, darlin. Breath it all in." Charles took a deep breath, "Smell that? This is where the money is."

Dana took a breath to smell the money. It was not a good smell. Then she said, "Money kind of smells like trash."

Charles smiled and agreed, "Yes, yes it does. But the payout for recyclables is so high I am surprised more people aren't here. Either no one knows or it is the best kept secret in town." Charles grabbed his coat then walked over and picked up three boxes. He brought them back to the wagon and started to sort items. Aluminum, tin, and glass. While he sorted the aluminum and tin, Dana put the glass into the last box. She would have helped him with the others, but he was so fast at it. He sorted two boxes faster than Dana could do the glass box.

Once all the boxes were sorted. Charles said, "Money time. Let's go turn in." He grabbed the bottle and can boxes and said, "Get that one, darlin. It's the lightest." Dana picked up the box and followed Charles. He walked toward a hole in the wall with a rabbit sitting in a chair. The rabbit was wearing a coat and was holding a strangely shaped carrot. But what else was new Dana thought. Once there, Charles put down the two boxes and said, "Good afternoon, Kate."

The rabbit looked at the boxes and Dana then asked, "What in tarnation are you selling me today, Charles? Three boxes and a child?! You know we don't take kids over the age of three."

Charles laughed and patted Dana on the head, "No, she is my apprentice. You know, it is never too early to start learning the trade."

"Sure thing, Charles," the rabbit said, "Tell your apprentice to put the box on the scale." Dana put the box down by the sign that said, "SCALE". It was right next to Rabbit's window. Charles waited for the rabbit to give him a thumbs up, then he removed the box and weighted the tin box. Once that was done, they weighted to glass box.

Once all the reading was done the rabbit read wrote something down on a piece of paper then opened the carrot. She fiddled around with something handed Charles a bunch of dollar bills. Then she said, "Good doing business with you Charles." The Rabbit looked to Dana and said, "Keep this old man out of trouble will ya?"

Dana just nodded and followed Charles back to his wagon. Now that it was empty Charles pushed it easily back outside. The bright sun blinded Dana for a second. She looked at Charles expecting to get some of the dollars he received. But Charles said nothing. Dana made sure that Charles knew she was still there. She looked at him until he looked back. But he just smiled and kept walking. What was happening here? The job was done, and the money had been acquired. Why had Charles not shared the fortune? Maybe he wasn't going to? Maybe Jeremy was right? Maybe this was all a mistake.

Soon enough Charles asked, "Are you hungry?" Dana nodded. Charles smiled at her and said, "I bet you are. Working really builds up an appetite. I know a place we can get some grub. Follow me."

Charles started to walk back to the river then cut right. Where was he going? How far away is the Garden from here? Where exactly is the Garden from here? Dana continued to follow Charles. The longer she followed him the more she began to question his motives. Was Charles going to share the money? He certainly has not shared it so far. She was not sure if this raccoon was going to keep his word, but for now she followed him. They walked together along the river then down a bit. Charles's wagon rattled loudly now that it was empty. Dana did not say anything. She thought about how mad she would be if Charles didn't give her any money. She thought about what she was going to say. How she was going to tell him what a bad Raccoon he was. But before any of that happened Charles stopped in front of a giant taco shaped structure. This taco had wheels so it obviously could move. It also had a large window where a female goat stood wearing a hat. Once again, Dana was not surprised. If anything, this was almost normal now.

Charles looked in a window and began to speak, "I'll have…" but immediately stopped himself. Charles walked over to Dana and looked at her. He pulled out the wad of dollar and split the stack giving her half. "Here you go, darlin. Order whatever you want." Dana was amazed. All this time she thought Charles was going to betray her, but he didn't. Charles was a good raccoon. A tear started to form in her eye, and she gave Charles a big hug. Charles chuckled a bit and said, "Okay, okay, don't get all worked up over tacos." Charles pulled away from her hug. "You okay?"

Dana shook her head then wiped the tear out of her eye, "Yeah, I just thought you were going to keep the money for yourself."

Charles shook his head, "No Darlin, I wouldn't do that to you. Money is just worthless paper without someone to share it with." With that said he stood up and turned to the goat lady in the window, "I'll have two tacos and a water for myself and the little one will have…" Charles looked at Dana.

Dana said, "I'll have two!"

The goat nodded and said, "Eight dollars total or four each." Dana counted out four dollars and handed it to the goat. The goat shouted to someone in the back, "Jimmy, we need four more!" Someone in the back shouted at the goat but Dana could not understand what was being said. The food was ready fast. Dana had no idea how long it took to make tacos but within seconds the tray was at the window. Charles took the order from the goat and walked over to a nearby table. Dana had completely forgotten how hungry she was. But as she sat there with tacos ready to eat, her stomach was doing all the talking. Charles divided up the food, two for Dana, two for himself. Dana began to devour them like a ravenous animal. The tacos were really good. Maybe it was the starvation talking but Dana couldn't remember a time when the food tasted this good.

Charles watched as Dana devoured one of her tacos. "Very impressive. I have never seen a little girl eat so fast. When was the last time you ate?"

Dana stopped eating and thought about it for a second, "Umm, I ate a fish this morning." Dana said wiping her mouth with her sleeve, "but I didn't eat very much of it. So, I guess I am pretty hungry now."

Charles nodded, "Yeah, I figured as much. Sometimes you eat what you can get. The way you downed that taco I figured you had not eaten in a week." Charles returned to his own food. After a few bites he asked, "I didn't want to ask because, I don't usually ask questions, but we are business partners now so, what are you going to use your money for?"

Dana was already halfway through her second taco. She stopped and said, "I need a map." Dana said with her mouth full. "I have to get to the courthouse downtown."

Charles nodded, "Downtown? Really?"

Dana replied, "Yeah, it's a big stone building around here. With a Judge and a black robe, and everything."

Charles agreed, "Yeah, the courthouse. I know the place. Been there a few times myself." He questioned her further, "What are you doing in this part of town if you are trying to get to the courthouse?"

Dana stopped eating for a second, "I thought it was nearby. To be honest I have no idea where it is."

"Well, it is not around here, darlin." He pointed to the right and said, "The courthouse is that way. About 6 plus miles away."

Dana almost chocked on her food with that one, she asked, "6 miles?" She cleared her throat and asked again, "You are messing with me right?"

"Sorry to say no," Charles picked up his next taco, "You are actually really far away."

How far is that on foot?"

"Not really sure, you can run 6 miles in about an hour. Maybe more if you are out of shape." Charles took another bite of his second taco. When he was done, he said, "But the first step is getting a map, right?" Dana nodded but didn't say anything. She was still finishing her food and thinking about how far 6 miles was. Charles got up and asked the taco goat lady a question, Dana could not hear what they were saying. Then Charles returned with a pen and started to draw in a napkin. Dana watched him draw for a bit, but she could not recognize what he was writing. When he was done, he turned the napkin around so she could see it. "Here, that will save you a few dollars."

Dana looked at it. Confused at what she was looking at she asked, "What is this?"

"It's a map of downtown." Charles pointed at the map and said, "Here is the courthouse. This is main street. And this is first avenue. I know the drawing isn't the best, but it will get you there. I used to sleep under the bridge on 3rd for a while back in the wintertime. I know that area pretty well."

Dana looked at the map still with confusion. This map was downtown but how do you get to downtown? She asked, "Okay, and where are we on this map?"

Charles shook his head, "We are not on it." He pointed off to the left on the map. "You see, we are right about here. Long way from downtown." Charles laughed as he cleaned up his plate, "A long walk. You would be lucky to make it there today."

Today? Dana thought. This was not a part of her plan. Where would she stay if she had to sleep overnight in the jungle? At least she had some money to get food. What if the dogs saw her walking? How would she escape? These thoughts flooded her head for a minute. Finally, a clear coherent thought entered her brain. Dana looked at Charles and said, "Okay I need you to write some direction down for me." She slid the napkin closer to Charles. "If I were going to get to the courthouse from here, without running into any dogs, what would I need to do?"

"Without dogs?" Charles looked confused, then said, "I am more of a cat person myself."

Dana smiled and said, "Cats are fine, I just want to avoid dogs for now. You know what kind of dogs I am talking about?"

Charles shook his head, "Not really, a dog is a dog in my book." He took the pen and wrote down some stuff. Then he showed her the paper and said, "You travel west from here. You go past the college then its less than 5 miles to Main St. Get on Main St. and go south to the courthouse. If you get lost just use the map."

Dana looked at the map with the new writing Charles had put on it. "So, three rivers and I am there."

Confused by her statement Charles said, "I am not sure how many rivers are between here and the courthouse. I think it is only one or two. But if you follow that map, I am sure you will make it there without any problems. Hopefully there aren't too many dogs on the way."

Dana corrected him, "Not dogs like pets, I am talking about the big dogs that drive marshmallows."

Charles looked very confused for a second. "I am not sure I have ever seen such a dog. Are you talking about some kind of circus dog?"

"No," Dana elaborated, "When you commit a crime the dogs come and take you away. They wear vests and have marshmallows. You know the kind with flashing lights. I am sure you have seen them all over the place. The jungle is full of them. How long have you lived here?"

Charles sat there for a long time trying to understand what Dana was saying. After a moment, he said, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Dana pointed and said, "Look the river. The trees. Dogs, cats, raccoons, and goats. They are all around us."

Charles once again sat there trying to understand what Dana was saying. Finally, he said, "I get it now. You're a little messed up in the head, aren't you?"

Dana looked down with disappointment, "I might be." Charles didn't say anything. For the first time since they met a strange silence floated between them. Dana looked at Charles expecting him to say something, but he was just blankly staring at her. Then Dana said, "Sorry, I just thought maybe you would understand."

"I guess not." Charles finally broke his stare at her. "I guess we all have our demons." With that Charles stood up and looked around. "Well, it is time for me to get going." Charles looked back to Dana as she sat there, "You good?"

"Yeah, where are you going Charles?" Dana asked as he stood up.

"Now that I have some money, I have to go to the store to take care of some real business." Charles pointed to a tree across the river. Dana looked at the tree but didn't really understand what he was talking about.

"Would you like to come with me to the courthouse?" Dana asked as she followed him.

"Umm, no. Darlin I would, but now that I have some money, I have to deal with… adult problems. When you get older you will understand. Everyone has bad habits. And with those bad habits, we all deal with them in our own way, you know what I am saying?"

Dana shook her head, "No, not really." She looked at the tree across the river, it had some signed on the front and glowing algae on its bark. What could possibly be inside? Dana asked, "Can I… come with you?"

"Nope, not this time, darlin. If I walk into the liquor store with a minor, they might not let me back in next time." He held out his hand to shake hers. "You have a long trip ahead of you. Watch out for marshmallow dogs along the way."

Dana shook his hand, "Thank you Charles, for teaching me to fish."

"Thanks for your company today." Charles smiled as he let go of Dana's hand. He said, "You take care of yourself, and don't go spending all that money in once place. You hear?" With that he entered the door in the nearby tree. Dana watched as the door swung shut.

Once again, she was alone. She looked back to the river and remember what Marina had said. Marina was right. She should have kept the details to herself. Dana looked to the map and thought out loud, "Travel west, college, then south on Main St." She repeated this several times so she would remember it. Finally, she jumped up and ran over to the goat in the Taco. She said, "Which way is west from here?"

The goat lady said, "The sun rises in the east, and sets in the west. That way." She pointed to the right. Dana looked in that direction and back to the goat lady.

Dana replied, "Thank you." and started walking. Dana put the map in her pocket so she could keep track of it.

As she walked her mind drifted back to Jeremy. He was waiting for her at the Garden. However, that was way back… somewhere. Dana didn't even know where the Garden was now. Despite missing his company, she would waste too much time going back to look for him. She had to be at the courthouse today and she didn't have time to waste.

After crossing another three rivers. Dana started to feel worried. This was a big jungle, and everything seemed bigger and scarier now that she was alone. All the people she passed on the riverside stared at her. No one said anything but it was rather intimidating. Suddenly the piercing scream of a siren went off. Dana ducked behind a small tree hoping to hide herself. The siren got closer and closer. But as quickly as it came it passed by. The dogs where all over this jungle. But they didn't see her this time. Dana breathed a sigh of relief. This only drew more attention to herself.

A passing turtle stopped to look at her. Then he asked, "Hey kid, shouldn't you be in school or something?" Dana did not say anything she just kept walking. The turtle watched her leave but did not ask any more questions. She didn't look back until she had crossed the next river. The turtle must have moved on because he was not following her. Dana looked at the small trees at each river corner. There had to be a method to this madness. Dana continued to walk west. She had no idea how far she had walked but she kept going. She thought, how am I going to get to the courthouse like this? Am I even going the right way?

Out of nowhere a lightning bolt cracked though the air. Dana was startled but only for a second. She looked around at the passing animals, but no one else was affected by the loud boom. The lightning bolt fired straight up. Just like Jeremy's lightning wand. She looked down for a mouse at people's feet. But she did not see anything. She walked in the direction of the sound. Looking down, looking all around. Then she heard a voice that stopped her in her tracks, "I am so very disappointed." Dana turned to see Jeremy sitting on a tree branch.

"Hi, Jeremy." Dana smiled at him. "I knew it was you."

"No, no, no! Don't you go saying Hi Jeremy to me like that. I told you I would meet you at the Garden! Remember that? You left me there for two hours. What happened to us Dana? We promised never to lie to each other. We promised each other that we would go to Paris together! Oh, Dana how far have we fallen?" Jeremy drooped his head down clearly sad, or at least acting sad.

Dana was confused, "I hope you are messing with me, because I don't remember promising all those things."

"Don't change the subject!" Jeremy snapped, "You abandoned me! You left me for a raccoon?!"

Dana tried to explain, "I am sorry Jeremy. I needed the money so I could buy the map. I am truly very, very sorry."

Jeremy rolled his eyes at Dana, "Oh please, I have heard that excuse a thousand times. AND its entirely your fault, I told you not to trust a raccoon."

Dana was confused now, "No, you said that you liked raccoons?"

"I did." Jeremy corrected her, "but not anymore. A wizard is allowed to change his mind."

"Money is just worthless paper without someone to share it with." Dana quoted Charles then said, "and I want to share it with you."

Jeremy turned back toward Dana and said, "That is very sweet of you. I am flattered. But we are a long way away from the Garden now. Which means we have to go back. Do you realize how far we have to backtrack?"

Dana pulled out the map Charles had drawn for her and said, "We don't need to go back to the Garden. Charles drew me a map on a napkin, so that saves us time and money."

"Oh, well that was nice of him." Jeremy said as held out his hand, "Let me see this map." Dana put the map in Jeremy's hand. He studied it for a quick second then said, "I hate it. His drawing skills need some work. Seriously, I have seen 3rd graders draw better than this."

Dana gave him a smile and said, "The map is fine. It saves us hours of backtracking."

Jeremy handed her the map and said, "Okay, you did good kid. I guess we can still travel together. Just don't run off on me again."

"Me running off on you? Jeremy, you left me, remember?" Dana put the map back in her pocket then asked, "So, how did you find me?"

"It's called magic." Jeremy pointed his wand at Dana's face. "Remember how I was hanging out with you to charge my wand? Your lifeforce is charging my wand therefore you and my wand are linked. I casted the teleport spell until the wand told me you were close by. You didn't think our deal was over, did you?"

"No of course not," Dana held out her hand to take Jeremy. However, Jeremy resisted. He looked away and said, "You and that raccoon raided my Portals to Nowhere. I still haven't heard an apology yet."

Dana smiled at Jeremy, "I said I was sorry. What more do you want?"

Jeremy walked over to her hand and steps on. Dana put him back on her shoulder. Jeremy said, "I am okay with it, as long as you tell me you didn't enjoy going through my Portal crates."

Dana agreed, "Oh yeah, it was terrible. I hated it, seriously. But I did get some money out of it."

Jeremy sniffs her hair, "You smell like raccoons. You can't tell from a distance, but raccoons have a smell to them. News Flash, it's not a good smell."

Dana began walking again. But she had the strangest feeling that Jeremy was holding back the truth. She looked at Jeremy and asked, "Jeremy, you said that you teleported here." Jeremy nodded. Dana continued, "Now that we know where it is, why can't we just teleport us to the courthouse?"

Jeremy scratched his chin, "That is a good idea, but it is also not. It won't work." My wand is scaled to my size. I can teleport around without draining its power too much. If I try to teleport you then it will probably only teleport you 3 or 4 feet in that direction. So, get your own wand then we can give it a try."

Dana agreed, "Okay, I have the money. Where do we buy a human sized wand?"

"You don't buy them. It's not something you order online. You have to make one." Jeremy held his wand up. "This one actually belonged to my mother. It's a family heirloom. Anything your mother gives you is special, right Dana?"

"Yeah." Dana agreed. But with that, her thoughts drifted back to her parents. My mother? Dana closed her eyes to try and see her mother in her head. Nothing happened. Why couldn't she remember her own mother?

Jeremy tapped her on the ear, "Hey, you can't walk with your eyes closed. Wake up." Dana opened her eyes and saw she was almost walking in the river. She corrected herself and thanked Jeremy. "Now that I have your attention, I will explain the plan that I have created. Are you ready?" Dana looked at Jeremy but didn't have a chance to respond. "So, we are going to walk to the courthouse while charging my wand. When we get there, it should be fully charged or at least 80%. Which is fine for now, but in future events when my wand has lost its power, I will mail it to you. You put the wand in your pillowcase for one week, then mail it back. Sound good to you?"

Dana answered, "Yeah that is fine with me. How will you know where to mail it?"

"Of course, you will give me your mailing address," Jeremy replied, "isn't that how you humans exchange things?"

"I don't know my mailing address." Dana said sadly.

Jeremy gave her a look of despair, "Really? Come on Dana. Work with me here. I am really trying to meet you halfway on this wand business. My hand is out reaching for you. Come on Dana reach! Reach! You can do it." Jeremy reaches out in front of himself pretending to reach for Dana's hand.

This made Dana laugh a bit. She tried to comfort him, "Don't worry, when we get to the courthouse, I am sure they will have my mailing address there." Dana gasped at the idea that just formed in her head, "Maybe even my parent will be there! They would be so happy to meet you."

Jeremy nodded and said, "That would be nice, speaking of parents. Did I tell you my mother gave me this wand?"