My Wish at the End of the World

One Day on a Sunburnt Road

"Hey, bozo, get out," I hear the driver say again. A few seconds pass and I hear dragging and turn around to see her drag the person who was on the floor, passed out, out of the cart. "I did warn you," she grunts and tosses them to the side.

I look around the local library and the unconscious person. They will most likely die of dehydration if nobody helps. It doesn't look like a place that would just let them die, but I can't leave them there.

"Okay," I say, and walk over to the person and pick them up, saddling them on my back. I walk them over, into the library and set them on a bench, receiving a quick glance and thumbs up from the librarian, a somewhat short person with closely cropped brown hair and a ramrod posture. "You'll be safe here," I say, talking to myself as I set them down on a bench and go to the town fountain, filling up my water flasks.

I return and tilt them upright, pouring out a trickle of water, hoping it goes down their throat. I know how to help with dehydration, but never had much experience at home, since we lived by the shore and there was always a good supply of water. I do this for a few minutes and their eyes open. They start coughing, tensing up and shaking.

"Sorry," I say, and they look up, their eyes unfocussed, gazing around. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," they say, then start murmuring. "What are you apologizing for?" Their brow furrows as they try and fail to focus their eyes and stop them from wandering and their voice cracking. They pause. "Actually, I can't see well." She starts coughing again, trying to chuckle, and I place a hand on her forehead. It's still hot. She raises her hand and brushes mine away, and I let it fall down.

"You'll be fine, just stop talking and swallow," I say, giving her more water. She closes her eyes and drinks it. I keep giving her water, receiving a few glances from who appears to be the librarian. Eventually she sits up, grabbing onto my shoulder for stability.

"My head hurts," she says, blinking a few times and looking down, her eyes, the brown irises almost swallowed by the expanded pupils, continuing to wander. She probably still can't focus them. "What happened?"

"You're dehydrated," I say, offering the flask half full of water. "You passed out in the cart, I brought you here. We're in the local library." She glances over at the desk, seeming surprised. The librarian looks up from their book and gives a small wave.

"Well thanks," she says, and her hand fumbles towards the flask and she grasps it, bringing it up to her lips and chugging. She looks away from me. "A lot." She finishes, shaking out any remaining drops then tries to stand, one hand flailing out towards the wall for support. She falls back onto the bench. "Sorry." She sighs, looking up.

"Don't worry about it. I'll go refill the flasks. Stay here and don't let anybody steal from us." She gives me a thumbs up then keeps chugging. Outside I stop and look around, my view of the sky framed by rooftops. It's nearly night.

I've never seen a sky like this. The sun has disappeared behind the walls, only its brilliant glow visible from here, the sky above me turning a purplish blue, still completely clear, and away from the sun a few stars have started to glimmer. Very few buildings here are over a story high, so in the center of the clearing away from the other buildings I have a clear view.

It's beautiful.

Around me I can hear the city, still awake, as people walk around, some going home, some delivering something or other, and kids playing, their shouts drifting through alleys and across the square, and the driver shouts at locals, haggling, preparing to load her cart.

I fill the flasks, taking a glance upwards every so often, the sky moving slightly between each glance, and go back inside.

"Hello again," the stranger says, then starts chugging again. She's taken off her cap, clutching it in a free hand, letting her shoulder length hair free in a mess of knots and tangles.  Her skin seems lighter in the dim sunset light of the library which seems to wash the color from the world, but still a rich dark brown. I hand her the refilled flasks and she nods in gratitude, raising one to her lips, then realizes I had put the corks in. "Thank you," she says, taking out the cork.

"It's beautiful out there," I say, sitting next to her. "Do you want to see?" She shrugs.

"I'll see it tomorrow," she says, furrowing her brow again. "You got somewhere to shack up for the night?" She leans back and closes her eyes, pinching her forehead.

"No," I say. "I'll think of something though."

"Okay. You can stay with me as long as you're staying here," she says. "I owe you for saving my life. I should have enough..." she leans down and rummages through her bag, wincing. She's looking in the bag, but she looks like her eyes are still unfocussed. Her sight probably isn't fully better. "Crud. Somebody took all my money."

"Do you mind if I take a look?" I ask, and she grimaces, then cocks her head and smirks fleetingly.

"Sure," she says, handing the bag to me. I take it and look through quickly, searching for something like a money pouch and listening for the clink of coins. Nothing.

"When did they take it?" I ask incredulously and hand the bag back.

"No clue," she says, groaning and retying the bag, barely looking at it. "But looks like I can't pay that favor back."

"It's fine," I say, shrugging. "We'll find something, right?" I look around at the library, at shelves kept fairly well, although it looks to be unused. I will probably have to research here too. "We can find somewhere to stay the night, and look for food tomorrow."

"You two can stay here for the night," the librarian says, standing up and placing down their book. "I have a couple of spare rooms."

"Thanks," I say, then look around. "Can I use the library?"

"Of course, it's public use." The librarian steps out from behind the desk, grabbing a cane leaning against the desk. "Only three rules. None of the books leave the building. Very few of these books can be replaced so be careful with them. What I say goes, I have neither the time nor patience to deal with any sort of unruliness in here. Got it?"

"Yes," I say, nodding.

"What's your name?" the stranger asks and the librarian walks over with the assistance of their cane, knocking against the floor. "Mine's Ether."

"John," the librarian says, offering his hand to shake. "John Em."

"Vic," I say, taking his hand lightly. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself earlier."

"Don't worry about it," Ether says and I let go of John's hand, who then offers it to Ether. They shake and Ether checks the flasks, finding them empty. "Do you have more water?"

"I'll get more," I say and take the flasks from her standing up, refilling them underneath the twilit sky.

One Day on a Sunburnt Road I met Ether.