The Man in the Desert Read online

The Man in the Desert

  by Nobo13

  Copyright 2012 Nobo13

  *****

  The man in the desert

  For as long as I can remember, there was a man who lived out in the desert. Some say he is god. Others say he is a demon. There are tales of him saving villages, and myths of his ability to find water. He is a legend that, even now, is told among the children.

  Aris- my town, it is a settlement of a few hundred, one of the largest in the world. But even this won’t stop the struggle we go through to survive. Water has become scarce and we have to venture out into the desert to fill our wells now. Crops are drying up, the cattle are starving, while the people thirst for any drop of water.

  It was during this time that the legend started to appear again. Desperate mothers telling their children the legend of the man in the desert, teaching them how he will come and save them. He will bring water to them and unknown riches from the desert’s heart.

  It’s been nearly two months without a stable water supply. The men go farther and farther out, until they start disappearing. Lost to the desert’s ways. With no guarantee of returning, many have become scared to look for water. Rumours of a spring seventy miles to the south have enticed people into going, but even the horses are scared to leave safe ground. No one will dare to venture out.

  In secret, some town folk came to me with an offer. Among the girls, I was well known for my riding skills, there isn’t a man I’ve yet to outrun. They proposed I ride out with a few others, confirm this phantom spring, and return with some of its water. If it is safe, then the men will drive out and harvest it.

  So we left, I didn’t even tell my parents. I suppose they will be furious but I’m sure they will be joyous when I returned with water. Little did I know, it had dried up long ago.

  We kept driving south. Even passing a hundred miles, we kept going. Farther and farther until it was just me. It was such a short time, and I knew no one with me, so when they died one by one, I couldn’t even realise they were there until they did. So quick and so calm was the desert, that it took them without me knowing. And so I rode on alone, hoping desperately for water.

  But even my horse couldn’t take it. It slowed to a stop before I realised it too had died. Lying in its shade, I awaited my own fate.

  I fell into a dream, a noble king was carrying me across through a lake. I could feel its cool waters on the tips of my toes. It felt so good that I thought I had gone on to heaven. An endless lake that filled everyone’s desire stretched out for anyone to drink from.

  I felt the yellow rays of the sun as I opened my eyes. I had survived? As I stirred from my sleep, I could feel the wetness of my lips. I turned to a bottle and lashed at it. As I gulped it down I coughed up in my haste.

  “Easy” a voice said

  I turned to a shadow in the sun’s ray

  “Who are you?” I asked

  “Hilbert” the shadow came into the cave I was in

  He was tall with dark hair. His skin was youthful, as if he bathed in water everyday. His eyes were dark, but had a yellow glow within. His eyes had some sort of goggle over them.

  “Hilbert? That’s a strange name”

  “Is it?” he shrugged

  “Thank you”

  “Hmm? For what?”

  “It was you who saved me right?”

  “I guess”

  “You guess? This water! Where did you get it?”

  “If you’re looking for water, it is too far for you”

  “Too far! But I have to bring it back!”

  “Are you from Aris by any chance?”

  “Yes? How did you know?”

  “I didn’t, I’m on my way there, I have to tell the people to leave”

  “To leave?”

  “I’m afraid so”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because there is no more water left here”

  I stared at him with some dread. The news he brought was fearful but I couldn’t believe him.

  “Then how are you able to survive? How is this water you speak of, too far for me, but close enough for you to dip your bottle in!”

  The man looked at me with some anger, but he withheld it. I was glad, for he looked a demon in the flesh that instant.

  “I will take you back, there is enough water for you in that bottle, ration it”

  “You think I do not know how to ration water? My people have gone two months without it!”

  “They are using the ‘well melons’ aren’t they?”

  “Y-yes” I replied a bit shocked

  “Good, they still have a chance then, alright, on your feet, we don’t have long”

  “Where are the horses?”

  “There are none”

  “Excuse me?”

  “We walk”

  “All the way to Aris?”

  “And further if I am to save the town”

  Among the still and tranquil landscape of blue and yellow, our two figures must have been seen a mirage. Two silhouettes, walking the desert alone with but a bottle of water between them. I sipped it every mile, yet his thirst never called for it. He continued walking relentlessly as I struggled behind. It must have been heatstroke , for when I came to, he was carrying me in his arms.

  “Awake huh? They must be desperate to send a little girl like you”

  “No,” I replied once my strength returned, “I didn’t tell my parents”

  “Well, it’s my duty to see you home then”

  “Won’t you drink?” I asked after a while

  “No, you need it more, in two days we will reach a well with enough for you”

  “A well? How can you be so sure?”

  “I know, if my memory can be trusted, there is a well ahead of us”

  I had asked to be let down, but he didn’t reply. He just kept looking forward, with his face filled with concern, fear, and desperation. He was determined, I’m sure, to reach Aris. Within the cold night, he kept walking. I remained in his arms as he stepped closer and closer to our goal.

  “Are you awake?” he asked

  “Yes” I shivered

  He let me to my feet as I toppled from my forgotten weight. He pulled off his big coat and threw it over me. It had the warmth of many years within, that I felt refreshed at the cool night air.

  “We’re here, you stay here and I will get you your water”

  “But you said it was two days?” I replied shocked

  He looked at me before grabbing my bottle. He tipped it to show it had emptied long ago. Had he been walking this impossible terrain just to get me water?

  He walked into the darkness and was lost among the black night. I stood there for what seemed longer than our time together before he returned.

  He was out of breath, dragging his right leg as if it were broken. He was completely covered in sand, but it was wet sand! Only his eyes showed through his feeble armour.

  “What have you done?” I shouted as I rushed to his aid

  “Here,” he reached out with his hand and handed me the bottle, “Ration it well this time”

  “Are you insane? What has happened at the well?”

  “Sorry, I lied a bit, there isn’t a well”

  “Then the water?”

  “It is deep under the ground”

  “Under the ground?”

  “Sorry, I will need to rest until the sun rises”

  Without any more being said, he fell sound asleep. I watched over him that night. Among the darkness came beasts, hungry for a meal perhaps. I was scared but determined to protect him. But the strangest thing happened. The jackal, king of the desert, came to his side and stood as I did. As my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, I saw that every beast was doing
the same, all of them protecting him.

  I awoke as his hand pressed against my head. I rose from his chest, sand upon my cheek. I had fallen asleep in the protection of nature.

  He rose as if nothing had happened the night before. He simply nodded to me as we continued our journey back to Aris.

  As I walked with his back in front of me, I couldn’t help but think about everything that has happened. Why didn’t he need to drink? How did he find the ‘well?’ and the beasts of the night, they came as if to guard a noble king.

  At once, the legend of the man in the desert rung in my head. His figure towered in front of me as if connecting the heavens to the earth.

  “Are you god?” I asked

  “No, I don’t think so”

  “You can’t be a demon?”

  “Well, indeed, that’s true”

  “Can you find water?”

  “If they are still there”

  At once I stopped. He turned to me and nodded with his head to keep moving. Even I understood now, that the quicker we reached Aris, the more likely it would be saved, but I couldn’t move.

  Frustrated and eager to carry on, he picked me up again and walked faster than he was with me.

  After we walked an endless array of yellow sand, he finally spoke to me.

  “If it’s a god you’re talking about, then it’s me who probably met one”

  “I don’t understand?”

  “It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but after all this time, I’ve come to regret it”

  “Regret what exactly?”

  He sighed heavily before continuing again

  “Long ago, I met with someone who offered me something. He offered to stop my time”

  “Stop your time?”

  “Yes, and afterwards I lived happily, knowing I would never age, I would never hunger or know thirst. I was happy until everyone I loved died. More of my loved ones have died than there are raindrops in a storm. So unhappy I’ve become, I went searching for this god. Everyday, moving forward, searching every inch of this planet until I find him. I have all the time in the world, so I won’t stop. I will find him”

  I was left confused and unable to believe his story. I was in silent thought for so long, that Aris appeared before us on the horizon.

  The town greeted me with relief and tears. I told them of the others as they wept for the loss of their precious ones.

  However, they met with Hilbert with caution. They asked him the same questions I had done, and he answered the same as he had done with me. Yet, they did not believe him. They had not seen the miracles in the desert that I had been a part of.

  They were suspicious of his water source, and thought he was keeping it to himself. At this, he told them that he was here to guide them to a new one, but that they had to abandon Aris. The people were in an uproar and they ridiculed him. No one would believe him, even my parents.

  He stayed outside of town for the next few days, coming in everyday to persuade us. But this made him more dubious. The town spoke of how he had enough water to spend his time out in the blazing heat, yet wouldn’t spare a single drop for the town. Worst yet, at night the beasts gathered around him, spreading rumours among the town that he was a devil in disguise.

  After just a few days, he never left the town without a wound that drew blood. And when he returned with every scar gone, that drove the rumours further.

  But despite this, he never raised his hand against anyone. Only I could see the frustrated look in his eyes, here was our saviour, yet we greeted him like a plague.

  When darkness fell, I sneaked out the house one night to find him. I was met with snarling wolves and screeching hawks when a whisper silenced them. He came from the darkness like a demon would, but had the image of an angel.

  “Why?” I found myself crying, “Why?”

  “Because I can save them”

  “Even still why?”

  He sighed and came to embrace me

  “Because I can still save you”

  In his arms I felt a warmth that was nostalgic. I knew this warmth from somewhere. Like a mother’s embrace of a new-born baby, his tenderness awoke my hidden feelings.

  I returned home and told my parents something that would persuade them to his side. He told me to repeat exactly what he said.

  At first my parents wouldn’t let me speak, they were as mad as the jackals out in the desert. But I got my words out and it quelled their flames.

  “In the town of Aris, there is a tower no one goes into anymore, on the edge of town sinking into the desert. There you will find the truth”

  That tower used to be a symbol of our town hundreds of years ago. Back when it was a thriving city. It isn’t common knowledge, but my father knew of it.

  Before the sun rose, he went out. He was gone until noon, and when he returned, grief was in his eyes. He carried several thin wooden blocks and placed it on the table. He stood in trembling in what I first thought was fear, but soon tears came and I knew he had realised he had done some wrong.

  At that he rushed out. I called for him but with no reply. I chased after him and found myself in front of Hilbert.

  “In the middle of green vine yards,” he spoke to my father, “Lies the city of Paris, with a great tower connecting to the sky”

  “Can we trust you?” my father spoke

  “I will take you to a new place, with water for you to survive, but whether you will make it or not is up to fate, it’s already too late to save everyone, half of you will die in the journey”

  “I-It can’t be” my father fell to his knees

  “Will you come?”

  My father was silent in guilt before finding the courage to speak

  “I will stay, but I beg of you. My family! Save my family!”

  At his words I tried to call out but my father’s glare stopped me. It was as if he was repenting for a sin.

  Before our commotion, a mob grew curious to our conversation. They turned to us like traitors, as if we were possessed, but my father shouted through their anger, shaking the ground and their chests.

  Still, I could hear the mob whispering, calling that he should be hung and dried out in the desert. My father was in tears at the mere mention of it and rushed to him.

  “Now, take them now, I will protect you, so please, save my family”

  Hilbert returned to the desert to wait for us.

  My father rushed me home and packed my bags. My mother and sister were in a panic, but he hurried them anyway. We took all our well melons, and stole ten from our neighbours.

  As my father prepared our escape, I went to the table to find what had caused him such guilt. I drew closer, and found the thin wooden blocks were beautiful frames that had not paintings, but some magical capture of life. But with all its charm, the image was as life like as it was taken. I picked each up, while dropping the previous to the floor. All of them with Hilbert, hung and dried out in the desert.

  One would say they were all the same, but the people changed, and the tower that was once our symbol, slowly fell in these still images.

  I wept as I dropped the last to the floor. In my sobbing, I didn’t hear the town people drawing towards our house. My father screamed with primal rage as he fought off those that barged through our door. They soon were upon him as my sister screamed out in utter fear. My mother came between the mob and me but she was struck down before us. I hurried and covered my sister with my arms but darkness drew in as I was struck as well.

  I awoke in the heat with lips as dry as the desert. My ears soon awoke as well, as I heard the screams of desperation. I tried to rise, but my limbs were bound to a cross. I was being hung and dried.

  I couldn’t even shake or tremble, my limbs were so tightly bound, and my body so weak, I wasn’t even sure I was awake. But that monstrous scream soon brought my senses back.

  I used all my strength to turn my head, and could see my family dead. I couldn’t cry, but if I could, I would hav
e filled the planet so full, it would be a blue gem from the heavens.

  I soon saw who was screaming. Hilbert, limbs bloody from his struggle to break free. I thought he was willing to injure himself to save his own skin, but his eyes met mine and he smiled with relief.

  “Don’t worry!” he shouted shaking the whole planet, “I’ll save you! I’ll definitely save you this time Anna!”

  In the dry desert, a miracle occurred. A lone girl, about to die, shed a single tear. It didn’t turn the planet blue, but was itself a blue gem. It held within its tiny self, her whole heart.

  The desert became dark as I fell under. I awoke what seemed only seconds later in his warm arms. I tried to smile but he told me not to. It was then I realised his warmth was different. I gazed downward to see the skin peeled off his arms. I had been feeling the warmth of his blood.

  The night sky drew upon us as he walked on, with me kept warm in his blood. I even fed upon it, so to stay alive a little longer. What was only possibly a few hours, but seemed like a lifetime, I spoke out to him.

  “How do you know my name?”

  He briefly turned to me before looking ahead again.

  “All this time,” he said, “I have loved one woman”

  “I see…”

  “But as unbelievable as it sounds, I have lost her more times than the sun rises. Every time I finally find her again, I cannot save her from her fate”

  “That must be sad”

  “I think it’s the price I’ve paid. So that my time remains stopped, my true love will always fall before me, time after time again”

  “What is her name?”

  “It is you Anna. You are my true love”

  And with his words, it all made sense. Why his warmth was so familiar. Why his smile drew me in. I understand now that it was because I knew it, I know him, thousands upon thousands of times, I have loved him, and until we meet again, I will love him still.

  And so I embraced his chest with my head, as I drew in towards his soul. I tried to stay awake, but I did not see the sun rise again.

  Until we meet again, I will always love you Hilbert.

  ###

  About the author

  “Thanks for reading! I hoped you enjoyed it. I wrote it out in about two hours, then got my mac to read it out to me for mistakes. This came at me when I was writing (and still am) four other stories! I sure hope I finish those ones off soon as well, but when a good idea comes, it has to be written down no?”

  For those who are tragically obsessed, Nobo13 was born 1987 in Cambridgeshire. He spent four years doing a Physics degree but spend most of the time doodling and writing. Currently he is training to be a Science Teacher.

  Nobo13’s pen name is derived from using his surname, just look above! His more unusual hobbies are collecting headphones, staring aimlessly out the window (which consumes much of his time) and messing about with musical instruments- at the moment these are ocarinas and ukuleles.

  Please check out my website and my other works, thanks for