Maria Summer's Arc

Chapter 2 of 3

Maria watched the old man's face as he spoke. His eyes stayed on the signpost, not on her. Someone with authority over abandoned properties in Mirelore was coming today, he said. The post had been planted two days ago on their behalf. Maria felt her chest tightened. She'd spent six months searching for a building she could afford. She walked to the front of the clinic and set down the wooden crate she'd carried from her wagon. Inside was everything she needed to show she was serious—surgical tools, bandages, a small wedding dress she'd made for a client's dog last year as proof of her work. She arranged them on a clean cloth beside the signpost, creating a display that anyone approaching would see first. If authority was coming, they would meet a veterinarian already at work. By noon, a dark carriage arrived. A woman stepped out wearing a long coat with an official seal embroidered on the shoulder. She walked past Maria's display without looking at it and stopped at the signpost. "This property is under review by the municipal office," she said. "No private claims will be honored until the review is complete." Maria picked up her certificate and held it out. "I'm not making a claim. I'm asking for a lease." The woman took the certificate and studied it for a long moment. Then she looked at the display, at the small dog dress with its careful stitching, at the tools arranged with precision. "A veterinary clinic," she said slowly. "Mirelore hasn't had one in fifteen years." She folded the certificate and handed it back. "The review will take six weeks. If you can show active service to the community during that time, I'll put your lease application at the top of the file." Maria felt the tightness in her chest release. Six weeks wasn't ownership, but it was a door she could walk through.