Shadow on the Horizon

Written by Treyton Allphin

A lone figure walked through the endless stretch of sand, the sun hanging low but still beating on him from above. His clothes, once dark and full, were now torn and shredded from the harsh desert winds. His lips were peeling, his eyes sunken, and his steps sluggish, yet he continued.

The man had been walking for days, maybe weeks, he had come from a city once, a place with bustling streets and busy markets, he even had his own cloth store, a name even, Amir, but now it seemed as distant as a dream he was no longer welcome back. All he had was the desert with its vast, unyielding stretch of sand, the sky that never changed, and the blistering heat that clung to him like a second skin.

His identity was slowly fading. Just the endless horizon and the crunch of his feet in the sand. His water had run dry days ago. His food was long since gone. Yet, even with every step feeling heavier than the last, he couldn’t stop. It can't end now. 

And the wind shifted. A soft whisper in the air, so faint it could have been his breath. His eyes flickered toward it, and there, on the horizon, a shadow appeared. It was not a mirage, not this time.

In the distance, a woman, draped in black with no sand on her to be seen. Her cold eyes held his gaze, he was captivated.

With the last of his strength, the wanderer made his way toward her, his body almost dragging him forward. The air grew cooler as he neared, and his skin felt even drier than before, like parchment. He fell to his knees beside the woman, he was stuck, the sand swallowing him. He looked up, the woman was doll-like but held a terrifying gaze and a slight grin, she held out her hand to him. He raised his hand, slowly grasping her hand, and with all his worries fading away, he smiled.