An extravagant purchase, his wife calls it. A dangerous fantasy, his father says. A bad idea, says his eldest daughter, surrounded by books and head full of numbers. He ties down the trade goods with ropes. He hires a guard who carries a flail- an odd choice of weapon, but apparently one of the few permissible under the new laws. Half of his family begs him to stay. His youngest son begins to cry when he explains his plan. He knows that he must do something. In order to continue to afford his eldest daughter’s education, he must learn to trade. As his caravan departs across the first stretch of the vast distance through the mountain pass, he looks back longingly at the family that hates him. He hopes they learn to forgive him.
