Mapping the Market Run

Waiting around the entryway for our market trip was getting restless, so I shifted ground to the living room coffee table. Beside a forgotten pencil, a folded grocery receipt and a pocket paper map from an old highway stop lay curled tight under a heavy ceramic coaster. I stepped across the polished wood, braced my boots, and drew my broadsword. Using the broad flat of the blade like a straightedge, I slid the steel over the creases, pressing down with firm, measured weight until the paper flattened out along the table grain. Marked two supply paths across the margin with the pencil tip. Route is planned and clear.