Desert Travelers

Helve Kristianson was sure that she was dead. Not “gone from the surface of the planet” dead or the more common” I’ve been stabbed repeatedly” kind that was quite gory in actuality but more similar to “Elicia will be so mad at me!” Sometimes that was even worse in her mind, especially if it came with “the staredown”. She dreaded the thought of that signature look of shame that appeared every time she did something wrong like she was in an observation tank for the whole world to see. Of course, she was overdramatizing but it really did feel like a million of Elicia’s perfect green eyes were boring into her very soul.

Groaning to herself, she sprinted down the stairs, her maroon boots clicking loudly on the tan marble floor of her family’s old manor, the 200 (and yes, she had counted) stairs that it took to get downstairs. It had never seemed this long before, but now it felt like an eternity. The old family manor where Helve had lived with her family for more than half of her life was just an abandoned husk of the bustling place it used to be, only two out of the original 12 members of the household still had their belongings and lives stored here. It felt... empty inside. At least compared to what it used to be.

Sometimes Helve wished she could’ve gone across the ocean, but then she would miss Elicia too much. The government wouldn’t have let a flunkie like her go just for being a cute little kid, anyways. Just a couple more feet to the nearest window, and then... well she hadn’t exactly thought of what to do next but at least it would be a start. Better than having the flurry of feathers come storming down the stairwell, looking for some kind of nibble of stale bread that she couldn’t just give up. Somehow she would have to wrangle the birds outside, and then close the window without them getting in... not a very well-thought-out plan. She really hadn’t meant to play the birdcall flute, and she wasn’t even sure what it was at the time. It was in her mother’s old possessions that she left behind, and she always went up to look at them when she felt lonely. Helve guessed that disastrous results was the price you paid when you didn’t look clearly at the box where you got the object from.“Coast clear,” she whispered to herself, breathing a sigh of relief. She kept on maintaining her speed, almost flying down the stairs. She even held her arms out like a bird, imagining she was soaring through the sky. She always loved to do this when she went down the stairs, and it was almost a habit, even when she was in a stressful situation.

It was then that she felt it: the slight wrapping feeling came around her leg like a snake had appeared from the depths of the floor. Her mouth gaped open in a comical “o” as she stepped into the first stumble, just barely realizing what was going on. The shoelace of her boot had come undone, and she clumsily tried to maintain her balance. It was no use, though. She came tumbling down the stairs, her chin hitting every step until she finally made her way down to the bottom, her petticoats flopping over her head like an overturned mushroom. Head and face throbbing, she grunted a noise that sounded like defeat as Elicia’s face loomed over her, one eyebrow raised over the top of her horn-rimmed glasses. Helve laid her head back down on the floor, just barely peeking one of her eyes out to see her caretaker. Elicia’s hand came to her limp body, rolling her gently and putting her back up in a seated position like a ragdoll. She treated her like a lady of the house but also like a sister. She had been living with Helve since her family went across the desert, and had been her only companion for a while.

One of Elicia’s furry ears twitched with annoyance, the silence almost making the situation worse than it was. It was what was said without speaking that really made Helve feel the shame. Elicia’s ears were still something that made Helve even more confused about the world, at least more than usual. After surviving the plague that took the rest of her family, Elicia had come to terms with the fact that she looked like some kind of partial animal. It was seen as a burden and a sign of lower class in society, so even if you survived the plague, you were usually cast aside as a reject or used as an indentured servant for the rest of your life. Not exactly the happiest ending. Finally, Elicia broke the silence. “Helve,” she said, very curtly, elongating her words as if to torture her even more. “What were you running from?” Helve took her messily plaited braid in her hand, rubbing it like a magical lamp, and making it come undone, flowing into loose dark waves as her hazel eyes looked directly onto the floor. If only rubbing harder could make her disappear. She found herself muttering things that she was thinking over and over again, an old habit she had never had the time to debunk. She stayed in the seated position, taking a while to begin speaking. “I-” Just as she was about to confess, Helve got cut off by Elicia grabbing her arm and pulling her harshly in the other direction. Helve’s shoulder jerked uncomfortably out of place. Elicia’s eyes widened as she saw the swarm, running backward with Helve in tow on her arm. Chirping that sounded like it was coming from at least a hundred birds came out from behind the corner of the stairwell. “HELVE!” she yelled, pulling her until they hit the large wooden door.

Letting go of Helve’s arm, Elicia rubbed her temples as she usually did when she was stressed and took the pad of parchment paper that Helve knew appeared during every mishap on her part. It was almost like a rite of passage for the mistakes she’d made over the years. Out came the fountain pen as well. Oh boy, was she in for a talking to. Scribbling with a fountain pen, the rune was messily drawn in black ink, but it did the trick enough. Elicia made an elegant hand movement with her long, pointy nails scraping the edges of the rune while it lit up, sending a gust of air that sent the swarm of birds out the open door, squawking and making high-pitched noises while they were dragged out of the house against their will. Runes still mystified Helve, mostly because she didn’t really understand the logic of them but also because they were shiny and seemed to be the closest thing to the amazing wizard stories Elicia told her before going to bed. She never had the strength nor the neatness to make them herself, as much as she wanted them to. Elicia promptly shut the door behind them, assuming her position of attack once again: arms crossed, eyebrow raised. Helve cowered in her presence.

Then an odd thing happened, starting first with the opening of Elicia’s mouth and then the flash of a pointy-toothed smile. A gurgling sound came next as if she were moving in slow motion. Helve looked confused. Was she sick? Dying? Did she need the first aid kit? Next came the giggle, soon erupting into a full-blown laugh. “Hahahahah!” she said, lightly covering her mouth as if it was an out-of-character expression. It echoed throughout the room, bouncing off of the high ceilings of the manor. Elicia’s laugh was the kind to make everyone around her be clutching their sides and making loud noises, a sort of infectious noise that enveloped your entire body. Soon Helve was laughing too, and Elicia pulled her into a hug, to which Helve wrapped her arms around her back and pulled closer. Any sign of affection no matter how small to fill the empty space inside of her was welcome. She hadn’t had a hug from anyone but Elicia in a while. They stayed there for a second, hearing each other breathe as the hug went on for a while, both of them unsure on what to do next, especially since Helve knew that she would be in for a scolding after the mess she’d made. Finally, Elicia pulled away as the doorbell buzzed, ruffling her hair like she was still a small child, which made Helve scowl and look away. She WAS thirteen after all, and she deserved to be treated just so.

“Coming!” yelled Elicia, jogging over to the front door and unlatching the lock. It was a surprise to both of them when nobody was outside. There was no usual scraggly-looking postman by the front porch, telling them about his latest adventures while scratching his equally- scraggly beard. He came once a week, and although Helve never got to talk to him, it was refreshing to see someone different, however much she loved Elicia’s presence. Only a letter sat on the faded doormat, with a blue (Helve’s favorite color) seal, like nobody had been there at all. It blew vaguely in the wind, but it didn’t seem to move even the slightest. Must have been heavy.“Hmph,” she said and picked it up. Elicia’s heart rate accelerated as her hand slightly shook.

It seemed impossible that something so simply written on the envelope could evoke so much emotion, but it spurred something deep in Elicia’s heart, something she could not possibly explain to the child waiting tentatively behind her for a response to the unusual visit of the unknown letter. Helve looked thoroughly confused. Most of the envelopes that they got were expired government voting ballots or the occasional letter from one of Elicia’s old friends. Gasping for air as if she hadn’t breathed in and out before, everything seemed to be slowing down and taking a lot more effort than usual. She quickly waved a hand to Helve and managed to choke out a “He-Helve...” without completely losing her composure.“Yes?” Helve replied, cocking her head to the side like a lost puppy trying to hear something. Elicia tried to hold in her sobs that were welling up inside of her, that had been there for so long.“Please go upstairs.” she said, hating how curtly she was speaking to someone so dear to her heart. “Now.”

Helve’s eyes welled up with tears, thinking she had done something wrong. After all, she had thought that she was simply playing around. They had been laughing just a minute before. Wiping her eyes with a freckly arm, she picked up her heavy skirts and ran up the stairs, not even bothering to play one of the games that she usually did when she was bored and had nothing else to do but goof around on the stairs. If Elicia said that she needed to leave in such a serious tone, something was clearly wrong. But she couldn’t help but be curious about what it was that was spurring something inside of her best friend that she had never seen before. She stopped before she got to her room, turning around and trying to make as little noise as possible as she crept around the corner, peeking her head out from the side of the stairwell.

Elicia grasped the letter in her hand, almost having to will herself to open it, feeling something tear in her heart as she ripped the seal of the envelope, wincing as she gave herself a papercut from being so vulnerable and careless. Blood spurted out of her finger, and she dabbed it on the side of the envelope, creating a red smear, like paint on canvas. Carefully unfolding the paper, Helve waited to see her reaction. What could it be? Something bad? Good? Really Bad? The letter opener that was held so delicately in her hands clattered to the floor with a tinny sound, and she put a hand over her mouth to excuse the loud gasp that emitted from her mouth. She looked absolutely flabbergasted, which was not a usual “Elicia behavior.” Helve gripped the side of the wall tighter, the unknowing knawing at her like those pigeons had wanted to do to her before when they figured out she didn’t have any food. The letters were indented in her mind, like an unusual dream that repeated over and over again.

Dear Beloved Sister Elicia,

I have found a lead on Helve’s parents

Reply as soon as possible.