"There you are, my dear." The man Maude had snagged the day
before accosted her. Damn, she thought. I had hoped to wake earlier
than this. "Are you ready to go?"
She grimaced to herself yet nodded that
of course she was ready to leave this hovel of a town.
As the gentleman helped her into the stagecoach she thought
about her son and felt a pang of guilt but steeled herself. Her boy
knew how to survive and she was sure he could do so alone. She had taught
him well. She had. She pushed any feeling of doubt away as the
stagecoach left the town and never looked back.
+ + + + + + +
Little Ezra snuggled closer to his warm furry teddy, having
a nice dream where his daddy let him ride his horse. He felt so big cuz
everything was so small from up there but his daddy who hugged him from
behind. He heard a ringing laugh and looked over at mommy. She was
happy again. She loved him again.
Safe in his little dream world, he slept away the morning
as his mommy in the real world left him behind. But Ezra wasn't in the
waking world yet and so he was happy.
A few hours later he was frightened awake by a heavy
banging at the door. "Hey you in there!" yelled the scary voice. "Get out! If
ya ain't out by one then ya get ta spend time in the jail ya bum."
Ezra hid in his covers and shook until he was sure the
scary man was gone. He then stuck his head out and looked at how bright the
sun was. He turned to his teddy. "Pudgy, Mommy's late!" Ezra told his
teddy.
He had to find his mommy. With that thought he packed up his teddy, the only thing he
had taken out of his bag. "Mommy says we gonna leave."
Ezra carefully unlocked the door, standing on his toes, and carefully
looked outside. When he didn't see anyone, he walked out of the hotel
and carefully extracted himself from the place. Once outside, Ezra had
a mission. He had to find his mommy. So he set out to walk along the
town, searching for the familiar vision on his mommy, ignoring his
grumbly tummy.
Vin arrived back in Four Corners, having been away for a while,
wondering what was happening back there…
Buck sat in the Saloon, thinking about the little boy he
had saved yesterday and the boy's ma. He'd seen the woman leave but was
wondering where the boy had been…
Ezra still walked around town; getting teary-eyed because he
was coming to the conclusion that his mommy was gone. He was tired, hot,
and hungry. He went into the alley for the shade and saw the wagon just
sitting there.
Ezra, being naturally curious, went into the wagon and saw
the nice blankets and his tiredness hit him hard. He needed a nap
and he hadn't had his yet but he was hungry. He started to snuggle into
the blankets and felt a crinkle. Ezra pulled it out and his eyes
widened. Food. He pulled the jerky out and quickly demolished it, taking the
edge off his hunger. With that done he took his teddy out of his bag and
snuggled into the blankets, taking his nap in Vin's home.
The End
