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SUMMER
Since it was clear we wouldn’t find water in the tiny grove, we started walking again, letting Tumbles guide us. He must eat and drink, and when he did, he’d lead us to it. If we were lucky.
The hills grew bigger, the sand denser, and the sun sunk lower on the horizon. At the top of each rise, I hoped I’d see water ahead. Even a lake would be welcome at this point.
I wasn’t sure how I kept going. It was a matter of putting one foot in front of the other, I supposed. It got so I didn’t care if I walked or not, as long as a tall glass of water waited for me at the end of my journey.
I stumbled, but rose to my feet, taking care not to damage my precious umbrella. It kept the sun from burning my skin, it helped make me feel a tiny bit cooler, and Adone had made it for me. Losing or damaging it would rip me apart.
I realized I was imagining things when I spied a tall structure far in the distance. “That’s a mirage, right?”
“I believe it is real,” Adone said. He stopped and watched me with heavy lines of sorrow on his face. He had to be as hungry and thirsty as me, but he didn’t complain, so I didn’t either. We were in this together.
But our end was near. I sensed it.
Tumbles kept rolling, climbing one hill after another, yipping at the top to urge us on. I wasn’t sure I had it in me to keep going much longer, however.
“I’m sorry we didn’t get the chance to have sex,” I said softly, walking close to Adone.
“The day is not yet over. Our reward awaits us when we finish.”
I pointed to the sun only a few blinks above the horizon. “We’re not going to make it. Even if that’s a city, we’ll never reach it in time. And we still don’t know how to make water disappear. Hell, if there is water here, I’ll drink it all. That’ll make it disappear.”
“I understand giving up.” He stared forward, toward the very distant structure. It might as well be a billion miles away since we’d never reach it.
“Did you give up?” I asked.
“Nearly. Only my brothers and their love kept me alive. They would hold me after Lord Vunne had hurt me. They’d bathe my wounds. And they’d tell stories to make me smile once again.”
“They sound amazing. I wish I could meet them.”
“You will, mate. You will.”
“Thank you for showing me how it could be when you meet someone you can love.” He couldn’t love me, not yet, but just like respect and desire for him were growing in my heart, I believed they were building within him.
It wasn’t fair that we were denied a possible future together. But that was life for you. It sucked all the good away.
“I nearly gave up at the commune,” I said as we kept walking. Take a step, then another. Up a hill and down the other side. We’d keep going until the sun set and the Universal Council passed judgement. I hoped they made our deaths quick. I didn’t want Adone to suffer. He’d lived with pain most of his life. He deserved a quick, painless ending.
“Why didn’t you give up?” he asked. “Did friends make it better for you too?”
“A few. I think I was able to keep going because I always knew I’d escape one day. But I waited too long to make a plan. And then, when I finally got up the courage to run, look what happened. I was kidnapped by four-armed beings in a spaceship.”
“And you then ended up in a situation worse than the one you’d left.”
“Nope, this is better.”
“How can this be? In your commune, you still lived.”
“Not really.” I sent him a smile. “Don’t you know, Adone? You don’t live until your second heart starts beating.”
“You don’t have a second heart.”
I pressed my fist against my chest. “I still feel it here.”
“Summer.” He stopped and turned toward me.
The sun hitched lower, slanting orange and red rays across the sky. They blended with the blue, turning everything purple. The sunset was pretty, but it was a shame it would be my last.
