Friday Flash – The Desert

The Desert

Ancient, desiccated cacti crumbled to nothing under Amroye’s boot. The sand was freezing, icy air leached heat from her face. The low sun hadn’t moved for hours, a distant pale disk.

It was the worst sort of lost. She knew exactly where she was.

The wild silence was here but it was just out of reach. Ice rimmed the dune flanks, a glittering, frangible crust. She began walking again, to keep warm. Then, down in the dry gulch, she saw the fox prints.

Too desperate to be relieved, too weary, Amroye followed the tracks at a ground-eating pace.

~

Audio narration available here