Finally time to fully settle down. Everything was done. Unpacking was completely finished; everything had found a place and was in its place. The transition at work had gone smoothly enough as well; all contacts were made, all paperwork was done.

It was the first time in a few weeks Minty felt completely settled in and could relax. Sure, there were still plenty of small additional things to do; she needed to find a reliable garage to take car of her old car, and the garden could do with some attention, among others. But those were not priorities in the green mousette's mind. Finally having a sense of relaxation, of settlement, there was one thing Minty wanted to do more than anything. One thing she'd had, reluctantly forced by her transfer and her moving, to neglect a bit for the past two or three weeks.

She was on her way there now. Finished with her day of work, the green mouse had filed her work and had taken care of a few things in preparation of her plan, made a few phone calls, grabbed herself a quick but filling bite of dinner at one of the local restaurants, and then got into her ol' '55, nosing it down the highway, in the direction she had come from a little over a week earlier. It was fifty-seven miles to Silverton, fifty-seven miles to the airfield, in use again for several years now as a small semi-private, semi-municipal airport... fifty-seven miles to her love, her passion.

The radio played softly, just enough to be heard over the sound of the wind streaming across the top of the windshield and along the sides of the car. Driving with the top down; it was already nice enough weather for that again. Minty enjoyed it. Even when she could not be in the air, the rush of the wind streaking past her, ruffling and blowing her green hair, caressing her face, her short whiskers, her large round ears, gave at least a somewhat similar sense of exhilaration. If she closed her eyes, she could be imagining she was flying... though of course it was not a very good idea to close her eyes when driving down the highway at seventy miles per hour. Still, even with her eyes open, she could daydream... the radio helped. It was that one line from the Modest Mouse song "Dashboard"; [i]You talk about nowhere, well it sounds like a place I'd like to go[/i]. Going nowhere... yes. Just going, no destination, see where the travel would lead you...

Silverton exit. With her excitement growing, the green mousette activated the turnsignal, nosed her old convertible onto the exit, sat up a bit to take in the so familiar surroundings more directly. Only a few more streets... the large buildings already in sight, growing closer, growing larger... the parking lot. Minty parked her car, leaving the top down. She almost skipped as she walked across the premises, taking the route she had so often taken before, not even needing to look where she was going, allowing herself to keep her gaze ahead, longingly, looking to find...

There she was. Sunny. Her Sunny. Her small, mainly green with a large band of white and a small band of yellow over the sides, so beloved, 1978 Beechcraft C23 Sundowner. She stepped up to the small plane, slower now, smiling, softly brushing her paw over the smooth exterior as she reached it.
   "Hello sweetheart..." she murmured softly. "Mommy's missed you. But we'll make up for the lost time now, I promise."
She softly patted the left wing before turning to step over to one of the buildings. There were a few things to take care of first. Fuel, most importantly, and letting everyone know she was there and would be making use of the single airstrip soon to take off.

It was a familiar routine. Familiar people. For a brief moment, in the past two weeks, she had considered if her move to another town would justify her moving her small airplane to another airfield as well. She had decided against it. Woodburn might be a bit closer by, but the difference was next to nothing. And she knew the people at Silverton, had built up good connections there. It was better to stay. It ensured her that she would be able to take care of the small things in a much smoother and quicker manner. And the quicker she handled those things, the sooner she could...

It was almost like coming home. Climbing inside, sliding into the seat, buckling up while her eyes slid across the instrument panel, putting on her headset, sticking in and turning to key to power up the auxiliary electricity; it was the same for her as it was for every regular person getting into and starting their car in the morning. She ran through her checklist, routinely, not even needing the large plastified sheet because she knew the list by heart, but still using it; safety first. She turned the key further while flipping switches. The engine sputtered to life, the propeller beginning to shudder and jerk, turning around slowly, then spinning as the engine started to run fully. Oow... more blue smoke than usual. Minty made a note of that in her log; cold start was burning some oil again. Nothing serious, but she was going to check it out the next time, always aiming to keep her baby in prime condition.

But not now. Now was the time to...
   "Silverton Control, this is Sundowner NM eight-eight-six-eight. Request permission for take-off." Granted. She looked at the wind sock as she rolled towards the gravel runway. "Silverton Control, can you give me some information on the wind?"
   "Silverton Control to Sundowner NM eight-eight-six-eight. Wind is sixteen knots, north-northwest, gusting eighteen to twenty knots. Light wind shear is reported between one-fivehundred and one-sevenhundred."
   "Sundowner NM eight-eight-six-eight, roger. Commencing take-off."
   "Silverton Control, roger. Have a nice flight, Minty."
   "Thank you."

The green mouse smiled while she increased the throttle, rolling down the gravel runway with the so familiar crunch under her tires. A little more throttle, a slight pull... a deep, content breath of almost relief. She was off.

This was where she felt truly free. This was where she felt... in place. In the air, high above the land, above the roads, the rivers the towns... above worries, above the hustle and bustle of life. In a matter of minutes, she was over highway Five, heading slightly northwest, approaching the town of Gervais. Long shadows on the ground, the small shadow of her own little plane sliding smoothly across the terrain and the buildings as the gradually lowering sun glittered gold and orange off the exterior of her plane. The river... Minty smiled again. She was flying low enough to see the boats, even the smaller, private crafts, light recreational crafts being taken out again now that spring was here. One caught her eyes, a small sailboat with a bright sail. Red sails in the sunset... Minty's smile deepened as she found herself softly humming the song.

She altered her course a bit. On one side, the Pacific; on the other side, the mountains. Dead center, the large orange fireball slowly sinking lower and lower, creating an almost unreal feeling of going ever higher even while her altimeter showed she was flying at a steady height. Still, the green mouse couldn't help smiling broadly. Heading straight towards the setting sun... all she needed was a score of slow western music to complete the scene. Nothing could beat this. High above the ground, in the free sky, free of worries, free of cares, flying off into the sunset... Ahh. This was the life.