Winifred Dawson tried to reassure her, but she couldn’t completely let go of her worries. Her heart was still twisted with concern, fearing she wouldn’t sleep well tonight.
She understood the mindset of young people. At twenty years old, Winifred Dawson was full of energy and curiosity, eager to explore the unknown and seek adventure. No amount of persuasion would change her mind; it might even make her resentful.
Mrs. Protich couldn’t leave her daughter behind for two or three months without seeing or contacting her. She abandoned the idea of accompanying Winifred Dawson on her travels.
Unable to resist, she asked again, “Miss Dawson, where do you plan to go? Is it really safe out there?”
Mrs. Protich had asked this question at least ten times, and each time Winifred Dawson reassured her that it would be safe.
“It’s the same thing every time,” Mrs. Protich thought. “But reality can be different.”
“I haven’t decided on a specific place yet. I’ll take it one step at a time. With modern transportation, I can go to the grasslands for a few days, then head to the seaside. If it gets too hot, I’ll go to the mountains in the south to cool off. There are plenty of farm stays with good signal; I’ll keep in touch often.”
With these words, Mrs. Protich felt somewhat reassured.
“Mrs. Protich, just take care of the house as usual. Consider this a long vacation for you. I haven’t canceled the lease on the seaside house; you can take your daughter there anytime.”
“There are also many farm stays and beaches around here. Why go so far? I’m just worried you won’t eat well out there,” Mrs. Protich sighed.
“How could I not eat well? With money, you can get anything you want. The restaurants outside aren’t bad either. But speaking of food, I do miss your pancakes. Make me some extra in the morning so I can take them with me.”
“In this hot weather, they won’t last long,” Mrs. Protich replied. If it were winter, she could make twenty pancakes that would last for days on the road. Besides pancakes, she also made dried fruits regularly. If she’d known Winifred Dawson was leaving for so long, she would have prepared some smoked meat too.
That night, Mrs. Protich busied herself preparing various snacks, worried that Winifred Dawson might be picky about food while traveling. Her stomach was sensitive and she was choosy about what she ate. If she didn’t eat enough, she’d easily get stomach problems. She ate small meals frequently at home because food was always available; but who would cook for her in the wilderness?
Mrs. Protich made five large pancakes and some braised beef with sauce, sealing them in glass jars for long-term storage. They could be eaten with the pancakes later.
Fortunately, they had an oven at home. Mrs. Protich dried fruits in it and bought a lot of Winifred Dawson’s favorite fruits online to make dried snacks that were easy to carry and tasted good.
The more she prepared, the more worried she became.
Winifred Dawson told Mrs. Protich to stop making more food, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself and stayed busy all night long.
By midnight, Winifred Dawson should have been asleep already; at ten o’clock she had been caught yawning by Mrs. Protich who sent her off to bed but she refused to leave and insisted on watching her work.
Not usually one for cooking, Winifred Dawson even helped with drying fruits and got hungry around one in the morning when she saw freshly made pancakes and braised beef and couldn’t resist eating some.
“Miss Dawson, it’s very late now; you should go to sleep,” Mrs. Protich said while keeping an eye on the fruit drying in the oven.
Winifred Dawson replied from nearby, “I’m not sleepy anymore; if you don’t sleep, neither will I. I can sleep on the bus tomorrow anyway.”
“Then go rest outside and eat something; don’t stay in the kitchen,” Mrs. Protich insisted.
Seeing Winifred Dawson reach for a knife to cut vegetables, Mrs. Protich quickly took it away from her: “You can’t use knives; I’m afraid you’ll cut yourself.” Winifred Dawson’s hands were shaky even when using chopsticks; cutting vegetables could be dangerous.
Not having much else to do, Winifred Dawson watched as Mrs. Protich made cookies and dried fruits in the oven. She tasted a piece of dried mango-it was sweet but not as sugary as store-bought ones which often had added sugar for better taste.
Baking cookies took some time, so Mrs. Protich went upstairs to pack clothes for Winifred Dawson during that period.
Each place had different climates and temperatures; like highland grasslands where it could be hot during the day but freezing at night-sometimes below zero-so clothes for all seasons were necessary.