by J Hawk
Somewhere in the middle of a vast field wiped of greenery, an aged man slowly pushed a cart of vegetables down the expanse. He was in his seventies, a Redling whose dense red fur was now missing steady patches, and streaked with white at spots.
The man was travelling from a village hailing closeby. Traversing down places like these and enduring extremities of this planet, was all a well woven part of Elgar’s life’s routine. A routine of an easy going, simple layman. Elgar had spent his days as a vegetable vendor, pushing the same vegetable cart between these two villages, and crossing the desert in between. Aged as he was, many were surprised that he hadn’t been dropped dead in the midst of crossing this desert, like the many other bodies Elgar was customary to witnessing as he waded down it. But despite his age, Elgar’s grit and his nerve had never failed him. And he knew they never would.
He groaned as he pushed his cart forth down the unlevelled, sloping lands. The heat of the mid day sun washed over the land, unyielding. Elgar stopped for a mean moment, withdrew his hands from the cart and wiped a coating of sweat over his forehead. The barren region was hot enough without Elgar’s thick red fur adding to it. Hands on his hip, he stood gazing about the scene before him.
As he moved his gaze along the land before, his eyes paused on a sight which was not wholesomely unfamiliar to him – a dead body lying further down the right, carelessly over the rocky land. This was the third dead desert traveller he had treaded past today. A pack of cruel vultures were circling the body, pecking at it and tearing strips of flesh off it. Muttering a prayer, Elgar pushed his cart on. As he ploughed on down the unlevelled land, ignoring the weariness, every minute seemed to survive for an hour. Elgar kept himself occupied by humming a meek tune to himself, diverting his mind from the heaviness of his labour.
The sloping land dipped in front of him, forcing him to clutch his cart tightly as he slid down it, before slowly climbing back along with it. As he reached the top of the slope, he could make out meek stubbles rising over the horizon. Smiling, he realised that he was almost at the end of the desert. A new vigour rising in him, he went on.
Meanwhile, far behind him, lying lifeless over the barren land, was the dead body surrounded by vultures.
This body had belonged to the one known as Zardin.
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