One man's trash is another man's treasure

[Anna Jones]

New Haven....always busy, always full of people. Which made Anna uneasier than ever, yet she had to deliver the maps she had been working on for the past days.

A careful step here and another one there; the New Haven Mapmaker was not very far. Her timid eyes were counting the stones on the ground, trying to avoid bumping into people, when she finally let out a sigh of relief as her both feet were on the docks.

“The ship to Skara Brae is from here?” asked the man. She looked up, sun was drilling her eyes she tried to cover it with her hand, dropped her maps.

“Uh nuh” her lips mumbled, as she kneeled to collect the rolls of  maps from the ground.

“Here, let me help you, lass” he said as he started to pick up the delicate maps and peeked curiously.

“You drew these?”, she nodded her head, keeping her eyes down counting her maps with pursed lips. They were all there but one.

“They're very detailed, and well made, I must admit.” he said while putting the roll of map he was holding over the top of the pile she was carrying.

A very weak “thank yah” escaped from her lips as her eyes stared at the stairs leading up to the Mapmakers. The man moved aside for her to pass. It didn't take her long to deliver maps and receive her pay. Her hands in her pockets, she walked down the stairs of the docks whistling to herself a quiet tune of the seas, happy with completing another contract. Happy that it was time to go home. Happy that she didn't have to be in this busy town for another week. While her feet were leading her to the moongate, she heard someone behind her. She increased her pace...this couldn't be good. Making a quick plan of simply bolting to the moongate as soon as she turned the corner; she felt someone tapped her shoulder; made her freeze in her boots. She swallowed hard before turning around to see the ... boots of the stranger. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest, considering the war and all that. She only could hear “Work, old maps, exchange”. Made her lift her eyes up. There she saw the stranger, the same man from the docks.

“So, a deal?” he said. She blinked a few times trying to understand what he was on about, as she wasn't listening. He beckoned her to follow. After a few seconds of hesitation she followed him back to the docks. He stood next to a trunk guarded by a young boy who didn't seem any older than herself.

“I have inherited these old ... maps from my father” he said as her eyes dropped over to his hands opening the trunk; she swallowed seeing piles and piles and piles of old maps. Her eyes widened at the sight.

“They mean nothing to me” he continued “I need maps I can navigate with and I am ready to give you these if you draw new ones for me”. Her head nodded as she was mesmerized at the sight of ancient maps, maps that had symbols on them even she never have seen before.

A quarter of an hour later, she was happily dragging the trunk back to Cove...impatient to finish up maps for this gentleman.