The Prophecy of Water | ✔️ 🎖 [2018 Wattys Shortlister]

CHAPTER 18-The Life in The Streets

The more I try to forget, the more it solidifies in my mind.

Damn you, nature. You cruel, cruel thing.

LoG, 281

The Light appeared and uncovered two wretched trembling bodies in front of The Cloaca. Both were curled up, huddled next to each other. They spent the entire Dark lying close to Roko's corpse.

One couldn't see where the dog began and where the girl ended. They seemed like an absurd hybrid from imaginative children's stories.

Squinty woke up several times during The Dark. She would always fall asleep again, resorting to hiding in her dreams. She didn't want to accept the fact that Roko was dead. Squinty also knew she wouldn't have much time to keep that illusion. She would have to get out of the denial. And the truth would hurt her a lot more.

Until The Light, she whispered to herself every time she woke up, in sweat and fever, squeezing the body of the dog that trembled and whimpered occasionally. Just ... Sleep ... Until The Light. And when The Light comes ... Then you will decide. Then you have to jump, move, do, without thought. Now ... now you can still lie motionless, ignoring the reality.

Squinty was tossing and turning on uncomfortable, hard ground. She dreamt she was running towards an unknown direction. She was alone, hungry and thirsty. Then she sensed light droplets on her skin and looked up, surprised. The water was falling from The Vault, and it wetted her face and cheeks. Her eyes widened in astonishment.

How very silly of you, Squinty. The water doesn't fall from The Vault. It never has. It never will. You're dreaming. Wake up, her subconscious said.

She listened to herself, finally opening up her pale blue eyes.

It was Grizzly who stood over her, persistently licking her all over her face.

So that's where all the water came from.

Squinty first stretched with a smile, and then somehow settled into a sitting position. She pressed her aching temples with her thumbs, massaging them. "Hey," she muttered. "I see you're feelin' better. The way you limped last night while we were running away from those creatures, I thought you broke something."

Grizzly lay beside her and placed his snout on her shoulder in a devout manner. Squinty embraced his neck, stroking his shaggy fur. They were motionless for a few moments, comforting each other in the face of misfortune that had befallen them.

Then Squinty got up and shook off the sand from her dress. Grizzly sat up straight, and she smiled. Squinty couldn't help but think how he was still a good head taller than she was. He reminded her of a towering brown horse.

"You only need to neigh and dig the dirt with your hooves, I mean, paws," she chortled.

Don't delay, she growled at herself after that laugh. Now is the decision time.

With a slow, hard step, Squinty headed towards a tiny, slender body. It still lay motionless in the same place where she left it, thrown away, like a ragged doll.

Grizzly sat on the hind paws and howled. Squinty shushed him, but she couldn't prevent the silent sorrowful whimpering that kept coming out from his now-closed muzzle.

She knelt next to Roko. Her tears ran down her face. They disappeared in her mouth, folds of neck and dress, replaced by new ones at an admirable speed.

First, she carefully altered the distorted, unnatural position of the body and straightened his head up. Then she put the dirty hand on his soft blond hair and combed it backwards.