Unbound

He surveyed the scene which lay before him; bare, untrodden, entirely devoid of any sign of life. It was an inferno and there they were, burning right in the depths of it with no means to get out. He skimmed the horizons for the imaginary oasis, hoping desperately for another string of hope to hold on to, hoping desperately even for a fata morgana which would at least lift his spirits marginally. Anything was better than dying without having the chance to fight back. He thought of the family he had left behind in the farmlands, how he had selfishly left them to pursue his own dreams of crossing the Sahara, and how he would not be able to get back to them alive. Tears materialized, streaking the corners of his eyes.

"Hey Cart, looks like Lady Luck's taking some pity on us, look what I've found." Cassie whispered from directly behind him, making him wince with shock. He did not hear her approach. He hurriedly proceeded to wipe away the tears with his sleeve as Cassie proceeded to stand beside him on the top of the sandhill. She gazed at the endless mountains of sand which plagued their crossing. "We've got ourselves a bit of mineral water. Hell if I know how these bottles got there, but who cares?" She took a sip from the bottle she was holding in her hands and pointed to a small pile of identical bottles on the ground, "Not much, but it'll last us a few more days."

Thankful for the sudden reappearance of hope, he faked a smile and turned to face Cassie, wishing silently for his emotions not to show. All his efforts to conceal his emotions went to waste. Cassie had immediately seen through the mask and picked up every trace of misery in his face, as if she had been specially trained to do so. "Cart, I know this is difficult. You're never certain whether you'd make it through the day, whether you'll be able to go home, whether you'll be able to see you family and friends again." Cassie looked at him in the eye. Her eyes were bright, reassuring, comforting. "I'm going through that too. The both of us would have to be strong if we are to survive this hell of a desert. No pun intended." Carter wished he could take refuge in those eyes of hers, hide in there and never face the world again. For a moment Cassie looked otherworldly, as if the intricate complications of life could not take a toll on her, as if she was invincible. Then the reality of the situation came down upon him, and she was Cassie again. The both of them were in mortal danger, and the water supply was gradually diminishing. The water levels in the bottles were a rough gauge to the amount of time that they had to get themselves out of the desert, and it wasn't much.

They embraced, hoping for a miracle. Both of them silently prayed for deliverance, or at least a quick death if they were to die, so that they would not have to suffer more.

"Hey Cart, even if we die in this desert, we'll both go to heaven together." It was as if Cassie had shot him through the heart. Cassie had apparently noticed, as she switched from black humour mode into optimistic mode. She twisted her face into a reassuring smile. "There's a reason we're still alive in this bloody desert, Cart. God has his reasons. Maybe he wants to see us fight before he delivers us from all this bullshit. Maybe he's testing us to see whether we are worth the trouble. Don't falter. All we can do now is to show Him that we are worth all that hassle."

"What if all he's trying to do is just to punish us by making us suffer before we die?" Carter retorted.

"Then we show him how hard we are to kill."

With those words still ringing in his ears, Carter turned away from the endless sea of sand and, for the first time in this seemingly hopeless journey, picked up his backpack with much determination to survive this test from God. Guided by Cassey's watch (for the rough positioning of the sun) and calculations written on the sand, they marched towards the uncertain, fearing nothing.

A gust of wind blew, and the numbers disappeared into the thick of the fiery sand. The skeleton of a camel gleamed in melancholy as the travellers trudged on the ever-changing landscape.

Sandstorms were usually seasonal, but as they walked on, sandstorms occurred frequently. The travellers were fortunately well-equipped with the necessary equipment to weather out sandstorms, so surviving one was not a problem, but everytime they felt that it was safe enough to travel again they would look out and find that the whole landscape had been transformed drastically. It was as if God had, on purpose, shaped impossible mountains to block their way out. They did not falter in the face of these difficulties. Whenever one of them felt discouraged or weary, the other would be a source of comfort and warmth (not as if it isn't hot enough in the desert, but you know what I mean), and they would resume their march in better spirits. Had circumstances allowed it, the pair would have had a blissful marriage, and this imaginary marriage slid further away with the passing of every day. Water supplies were running low. They only had enough water to last a day.

The both of them spoke less and less, as speaking would rob them of the little energy they had. They, however, stole meaningful glances at each other regularly. Every time their eyes met, they found reassurance in each other's eyes, and they would move on. They worked their way up sandhills and giant mounds of sand, always working their eyes along the horizon and hoping to catch a glimpse of green.

Green never came.

There they lay on top of their empty backpacks in the freezing cold of the Sahara night, holding hands, staring out into space. Constellations hung in the void of the sky, filling their hearts with an unprecedented feeling of awe. All the despair was gone, and it was as if the stars had relieved them of the burden of life and suffering, leaving them with nought but unladen hearts. They knew they were going to die soon, for their throats felt like sandpaper and they could speak no more. The stars smiled upon them as they embraced. Probably for the last time, Carter thought. Looking up into the sky with the last shimmer of hope in her, Cassie saw something which did not belong to the world in which they were in at present, gleaming in the night sky.

It was an aeroplane.

She jerked in elation and hurried Carter to make a fire. Hobbling in pain from the miles of walking, they worked as efficiently as men in a factory. The fire was soon up. Both travellers watched hopefully as the aeroplane buried itself in the depths of the darkness.

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"Hey dude! That's a fire right there! Send an SOS to HQ now, looks like we've got some people needing rescue. Hurry!"

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The men drove out of the city and onto the desert. From the coordinates sent by the aeroplane pilots, two people were out in the desert and very much in need of some rescuing, and they were only 1 kilometer away.

True enough, they found a damaged tent within the first 5 minutes of their search. Glad to have found the survivors, the captain quickly made his way to the tent, shouting words of encouragement for the people inside and hoping to relieve them of their despair.

As he entered the tent, a dreadfully beautiful sight met his eyes.

He saw two corpses lying inside the tent, hands held tight, and it was as if death could not do them part.