AZA - by Talib Anibaba

The DesertA deadly terrain that is known for its stifling heat, hypnotizing mirages, and its sand. The desert is covered in sand, dry and constantly flowing almost like water. That is probably why mirages are so strong and realistic, but the heatstroke a person would experience is probably more of a determinant for hallucinations. I was laid down on the sandy bed, looking up at the tarp above. I had to lie down because my body was overheating and a heatstroke was imminent, so my family and I set a place for me to cool down. At this point in my life, I have gone through a few heat strokes, and luckily water was always available to avoid any real damage. But water is hard to find, especially in this specific area, and it does not help that my body does not constitute heat as well as everyone else. The people of Naasr are well known for their high tolerance to heat, so much so that everywhere we go, my literal existence has dumbfounded them, leading to conspiracies of a curse being at play. My family have always tried to keep me from getting heat struck, but with how we are constantly moving around, it is very hard to do that. Naasr is currently at war with a neighbouring nation, Kastos, and so we have to constantly move to avoid the war entirely. Our government thought they would have the upper hand in the desert, but the Kastos empire have seemingly uphanded Naasr in its own territory and are slowly taking over cities and villages. At this time, most of the nation is praying to the gods of the land that things somehow turn around, but the gods of Naasr have been inactive for years, and so most individuals have lost faith. Others haven't lost faith, namely people like my parents. I stand on a balanced blade on the matter. I do still believe in the gods of Naasr, but I also cannot overlook how they have abandoned their people, how they have abandoned me. I heard my father shout my name from the distance. It probably meant it was time for me to get up from the sand bed. You would think the sands of Naasr would be considerably hot and ill advised to lay upon, but for some reason the sands do not bear the slightest amount of heat to my touch. Another thing about me that raises a brow. As I rose from my rest, I noticed the look of terror on my younger sister’s face, and it made me painfully aware of the situation we were in. Kastos soldiers. I could tell by the uniforms they were wearing. We had stayed in one place for too long. “What do we have here?” one of the Kastos soldiers said with a sadistic grin on his face. My father quickly drew his sword, ready to try and fight back, my mother doing the same, standing in front of me and my siblings, ready to defend us.But it was to no avail. The Kastos soldiers were too many and too skilled. They were able to disarm both my mother and father. My father had sustained an injury to the arm and was on the floor next to my mother in pain, while two soldiers watched over them. Another slowly walked up to the three of us. I told my siblings to stay behind me, though I knew it was futile. With a snap of his fingers, two other soldiers grabbed my sister and brother. I tried to resist, hearing my brother and sister scream for help, only to be met with a kick to my back, making me fall to my knees. The soldier that was walking towards me tried to grab my face. Though I resisted, he grabbed my chin, forcing our eyes to meet.In his eyes, I saw a darkness. A darkness that I had only seen from a criminal who was being sentenced to death. Not one of guilt or emptiness, but a look of pure sadism. “I like to look in this one’s eyes,” the man said with a devilish grin. I headbutted him out of pure disgust and anger, making him clock his head back, but he only straightened himself up again and began to laugh. “Oh, and she’s resistant. I like that,” he said. As he said that, he drew his hand back and delivered a strike to my face before grabbing it and hitting it with more aggression. “I can’t wait to see you break like the others do,” the man said before proceeding to slam my face into the floor as one of the other soldiers tied me up. “Leave the rest now. Only want that one,” the man said, climbing on top of a camel.I tried to resist, but my body was already heating up. At this point, I would rather be heat struck than go with these men. But then everything went dark. I felt a sharp pain before blacking out, as well as my name being screamed out. “AZA!!” …. “Those disgusting animals.” Blood dripped out the side of my mouth as thoughts ran through my head. “Filthy pigs.” The sun was intensively heating up my body. Everything was dizzy before, but it kept getting worse. I know where this is going. I have felt this way multiple times in my life. I am dying. I am dying, tied up against a log of wood. Naked. My white flower plucked and painted red.“I don’t want to die like this.” With any strength that was left in my body, I struggled to get untied. Those vermin had gone, leaving me here to die. I wish I had a stronger body so I could have fought like my parents did. I wish I was stronger. Maybe I would not have been.... The ropes gave out. It seemed the person who tied me up did not make it that strong, and I fell to the sand floor. The sand. It is so cool and comforting. It has always been there and so helpful. Even in my last moment, it still tried to comfort me by building up on my exposed back. Tears started streaking down my eyes. I wish I could say goodbye to my family. I wish this war never started. As I slowly started to fade, I remembered an old folk tale my grandmother once told me when I was younger. She talked about how people would whisper their wishes into the sand like they were directly communicating with the Goddess of Sands. So with my last breath, I whispered a wish into the sand that had shown me more love than anyone else. …… As my eyes slowly went shut, I heard a voice reply.“What a lovely wish.”

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