Desert Spice, Part 6 of 17

     In the Cinnamon Oasis a great distance from Alexi and Brandon, a concerned conversation took place. “Well you can’t expect them to cross the Meshullam Desert without bread, water and rest,” Kezia, the keeper of the Cinnamon Oasis, said. “And yes, the heat could kill them, but I know you, My King, you have appointed Silver Wing to watch over them.”

     “It will take them seven days before Imri can fly them to you,” The King said. “There can be no other way!”

     “It will be hard on them,” Kezia replied. “Today Odious Gresham, that filthy desert rat and his hideous body guard, Ordo, will be after them. I hope the two young people have the good sense to keep out of their way, or they will be chopped into pieces. Then we’ll have our work cut out for us.”

     “We shall see, we shall see,” The King said softly. Everyone in Kezia’s oasis called him My King, the Son of IAM.

     “Thy will be done, My King,” Kezia bowed.

 

     “Oh my aching back,” Alexi said, as she sat up and stretched. “Did you sleep well, Brandon?”

     “I think we were drugged, by God, and I’m furious that we did not get up and leave here after dark.”

     Suddenly, Silver Wing appeared a second time, still surrounded by a dazzling light of rainbow colors. “You mentioned My King again? And, indeed, you are correct about the drug,” he spoke in an awesome voice, loud and deep. “It was meant to be. You cannot cross the desert without rest. You have far to go and it will take days.”

     Silver Wing reached into his robe and pulled from it two smooth boards painted in shinning gold, ruby and sapphire colors, each with leather straps on the sides. “You will find these worthwhile during your journey.” Before they could ask what the elaborate boards were for, Silver Wing vanished.

     Brandon held his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the burning sun. “Who on earth is that man? He could have given us just a little more information, such as what journey he is referring to, and what direction we should go.”

     “Maybe we should head north like you said yesterday.” Alexi said, as she tried to smooth her tangled hair with her fingers. “I wish I had my purse,” she moaned.

     “Is that all you can think of at a time like this,” Brandon snapped. “Women! You can worry about the stupidest things in a time of crisis. However, you might be right about going north, though perhaps it makes no difference. And these lovely boards,” Brandon said sarcastically. “What good are they? We can’t eat or drink them.”

     “I suppose it does no good to grumble,” Alexi commented. “It will only sap our strength, and I dare say we will need that almost as soon as we take our first step away from these pitiful bushes, which I see are beginning to dry up.”

     “Such wisdom, Alexi, sometimes you surprise me.” Brandon laughed.

     “Now who’s being sarcastic? I’m dying for something to eat, but a bite of bread and a sip of water will have to do.”

     “Right again,” Brandon said, handing her a fistful of the bread. “Eat that and have a cap full of this water. Then we need to move on.”

Desert Spice, Part 5 of 17

     Yes, he did say that, but I think we should wake up and head out as soon as it’s dark.”

     “What if we don’t find another place like this before the sun comes up?” Alexi sighed.

     “The stranger said there were more; let’s hope we find them. If not, then we die. Now we’ll eat some of this bread and lay down, it will be dark in a couple of hours.”

     He broke off a quarter of the bread and allowed Alexi two more sips of water. He watched her eat as he nibbled at his own bread and thought about where he was supposed to be.

     Like Alexi, he’d left Santa Barbara early that morning, heading for San Francisco, where he planned to stay with Jennifer, a beautiful, though not too bright woman, who he’d been dating casually for nearly a year. He liked her well enough, but he loved the city, and she made a convenient companion for him when he was in town, and she also offered him free lodging when he came.

     Jennifer and Alexi were the kind of girls he enjoyed dating, but he had to admit that Alexi was smarter than Jennifer, but both dressed sexy, were beautiful and hot tempered. What he liked most about Jennifer was her declaration on their second date that she never wanted to get married. He had absolutely no interest in settling down for another ten years—that would be when he turned thirty-eight.

     His mother and father had been divorced for fifteen years. When he was ten, he’d heard them argue like never before, that was when his father stormed out of the house and never returned. Fortunately, his mother’s family had lots of money, and they had supported the two of them, until recently when Brandon returned from his tour with the Navy.

     “What are you thinking about Brandon?” Alexi said as she rubbed her blistered hands onto the grass under her bush.

     “I was just reminiscing about my life in California.”

     “Do you miss the Navy?”

     “Not really, but I know I could never live far from the ocean.”

     “Do you live in Santa Barbara,” Alexi asked?

     “Yes, my mother and I have a townhouse near the water,” he replied as he removed his shoes and shuffled his feet on the grass. “My mother’s family has money and a mansion in Montecito. We lived with them until I left the Navy and could support us.”

     “Did you like living with them?”

“     I don’t want to discuss my life right now, you’ve asked enough questions. Suddenly, I’m very tired. I wonder if that stranger put some sort of drug in the water. I can’t seem to keep my eyes open.”

     “I’m exhausted. I think I’ll just lay back and --------.” Alexi fell sound asleep before she finished her sentence, as did Brandon.

Desert Spice, Part 4 of 17,

    “You look like a tramp Alexi,” her mother hassled daily. “Your blouse is too sheer and too low, and if your skirt were any higher your navel would show. I haven’t brought you up to dress that way.”

    Regardless of their repeated nagging, she cared about her parents and knew they loved her. She was their only child, and they always said how much they liked having her live with them until or if she ever married. Now walking in the heat, Alexi wished she had not dressed so immodestly. What was she thinking, but she had been planning to spend the night with a girlfriend in Pismo Beach, and all her friends dressed this way.

    “Can you see the bush,” Brandon asked?

    “No. I was thinking about my family at home in Santa Barbara. So I wasn’t even looking. I’m so parched, I can barely talk.” She took a shallow breath and gave a little cough as if she had swallowed hot air. “Lord knows, I wish I’d been nicer to my parents.”

      “Did I hear my King’s name!” roared the voice that seemed to echo throughout the desert? 

    The dunes in front of them moved and for a moment the sun darkened, and then came a bright light with a cool gentle breeze that lingered. Alexi and Brandon stared up at a man on an enormous white stallion. Adorned in a white robe trimmed in gold braid, the light around him flashed like lightening as he sat high on the white horse.

     The man spoke, “You are in the Meshullam Desert. I will take you to the area you pointed to and you will be protected for the night. There you will find shelter, bread, water, and rest.”

    Within a blink of an eye, Alexi and Brandon found themselves at the base of two waist high bushes surrounded by a small patch of green grass. “Look,” Brandon said feeling the cool grass. “There’s a jug of water, and a loaf of bread.”

    “Who was the man on that fabulous, white horse?” she asked, forgetting about her thirst and the searing heat.

    “All I know is that there’s shelter, food, and water for us,” Brandon said as he took a sip of the refreshing water.

    “We didn’t even thank him.”

    “There wasn’t time. He disappeared the moment we got here.” Brandon handed her the jug of water.

    She began to take big gulps, tilting her head back to allow the cool liquid to rush down her throat. Brandon grabbed the jug from her hand, spilling a few precious drops. “Do you want to vomit all over yourself and waste water as well?” he shouted. “You have to drink slowly and only a little bit at a time. We may not have any more for quite a while.”

    He pulled his watch out of his pocket where he put it when the sun made it unbearably hot on his arm. After studying the compass on his watch for a minute he said, “If we head due north we might find a village somewhere. I think we should walk at night and rest during the day.”

    “Didn’t the stranger say we could have a good night’s sleep here,” Alexi asked. “If we’re going to walk at night, I need to rest first. I’m so tired.”

Desert Spice, Part 3 of 17

   He promptly broke off each three-inch heel. “With flat shoes you should be able to keep up with me.”

   “Where are we going?” she inquired.

   “Probably nowhere. I wish I could hold out more hope but that would be difficult in this desolate wasteland. Nevertheless, walking is better than waiting to die.”

   For the next two hours they lumbered from one undulating sand dune to another in the blazing sun. Then suddenly Brandon said, “look over there on the horizon, way over there.” 

   “What?” she asked impatiently. “I don’t see anything.”

   “There’s a dark spot right there at two o’clock.”

    “What do you mean at two o’clock? Who are you anyway?”

   “I was a Navy Seal for five years. I left the Navy last winter to pursue a career in medicine. Two o’clock means that if you’re looking at a watch it would be that time,” he stretched out his right arm to show her. “See.”

   “Ok, so you were a military man, are you a doctor now?”

   “Not quite yet.”

   “What were you doing pushing me off the road the way you did?”

   “I didn’t like how you looked at me when you sped past, and I wanted to show you that my Ferrari was faster than your Vet,” he said. “But you’re right. It’s my fault we’re here.”

   “I’ll take that as an apology.” She smiled meekly. “I guess I was going a little too fast, and you were in my way, but that seems so long ago right now. What are you pointing to?”

“It looks like there’s a bush over that way. We may find a little shelter and perhaps water.”

   “Well, I hope we can make it that far before I collapse,” she said, barely able to keep up with him. 

   As they made their way toward what Brandon thought could be a  place to avoid the sun, Alexi couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d left her house that morning. The day before, she had celebrated her twenty-first birthday at home where she still lived with her wealthy parents. They gave her everything she could ever want, but she always resented their parental authority, despite her thousand dollar a week allowance, which according to her rich girlfriends was very little. She had tried to move away from home several times, but her parents refused to pay for an apartment and said they would reduce her allowance by half if she moved out.

   Her father constantly lectured her about her taking responsibility for her actions, such as her speeding tickets, which she paid just in time to avoid jail. And if he wasn’t preaching about being accountable, her mother forever harped on the way she dressed.