Heart of the World

The people of Ashka, the village destined to remain abandoned in the desert, were once again preparing an assault. The men raced back and forth through the streets with towels, damp and dry, others running with buckets, full of water, careful not to spill a drop. The women were herding the children into one main building in the center of the village, frantically making sure they were keeping a head count of all the children of the village, so as to not lose a youngling. An elder woman, wrapped in a long gown with grey hair flowing in the winds, eyes covered with a black cloth, shouted as the last of the kids and women were running into the shelter, “Did you find William and Nate!”

“Yes madam we are right here,” a bored voice sounded as a young boy walked up behind the old woman, “There is no need to yell we are right in front of you. Also we are fifteen now, we should be helping the other men as they protect the houses from the storm. It’s almost on top of us and they still have the east square to tend to.” William, a boy on the verge of manhood, eager to no longer be treated as a child was breathing heavy, sand and sweat mixing on his brow dripping from his dark curled hair, clothes peppered with dust from the winds, now starting to pick up stride. “We don’t have time to be coddled like the rest of these children as our livelihood is put in dang-”

“That’s enough!” The madam’s voice bellowed over the howls of the winds. “There is no need for you to be out there. When you are seventeen you can be out there as long as you want, but you are my responsibility as of now, so you will do as I say. Now you and your rebellious accomplice get in the shelter now so that we can close up.”

With a short opposed sigh William closed his mouth and walked past the caretaker. Walking into the shoulder under his breath he spoke to his friend, “Thanks for the help back there Nate! You were absolutely astounding, I think you almost had her convinced to let us go back out.”

“Hey now It wasn’t my idea to go out there in the first place. I don’t even know why the other men here fight so hard for this place. There is nothing of value, just sand and misery.” Nate, an awkward looking kid, who hadn’t grown into his lengthy body yet, slouched to the ground, legs bent elbows on his knees and put his head down, “Why is this so important? We fight for everything. The wells dry up four times a year, crops barely grow in this forsaken place, trade died out years ago and almost everything we have gets taken by the monthly storms or bandits in the night. What is the point of living here with the two-hundred and fifty nine people in this village? The youngest child is eight years old. With the few camels we have left we could easily make it to the Forests of Ovorak. It would take three weeks, maybe four. Yet the elders refuse to move on from this abandoned village.”

William looked down at his friend, sliding to the ground himself he put a comforting arm around Nate, “I agree. We have just enough supplies to make the trip, yet every year the vote is set, we are outnumbered by these old hags, insisting that we stay here. There is nothing we can do until we get the votes to cross the desert.”

“Why must we wait?” Nate looked up sideways at William, “You and me, we can leave this place by ourselves. Our dads both passed two years ago, and, I am sorry but your mother died six months ago. We don’t have any reason to wait for the village to vote. We can leave just the two of us!”

William looked at his friend skeptically, “Just the two of us? You don’t want anyone else to come? What about her? I know you don’t want to leave her behind.” Giving Nate a sympathetic smile, admiring his friends' fearlessness to leave, yet knowing he would never leave the woman he loves behind.

“I'll ask her to join us! We have been talking about it lately, and with the disagreements she has been having with her father, she might very well say yes.” Nate had that naive twinkle in his eye, that willed everything in the universe to agree to his plans.

The winds continued to build strength as the sand began to dance in the air. It was time to shut the gates to the shelter. Just as the gates shut and the bolt fell into place a thin frail woman squeezed her way inside. She had no business being out there until the last minute, she was small in stature, light brown skin, and long wavy hair to match. Though she had delicateness about her she had a beautiful smile that shone brilliantly. She immediately spotted the boys sitting against the back wall and started over to them.

“Your smile could cut through the storm if it was any brighter, Shae.” Nate smiled at her and patted on the ground next to him inviting her to come take a seat next to him. She smiled warmly back at him with a slight flush, brushed off her clothes and sat next to him, “You know we are sitting on sand, there is no point in brushing your clothes off before you sit down?”

“I know it isn’t necessary but it is the way I was raised. Unlike you boys I was raised to have proper manners,” she said teasingly, letting out a small laugh.

“Hey now, don’t loop me in the same group as Will, I wasn’t born here, we were taught different customs back in the forests. Will, on the other hand, was born and raised here just like you, so I don’t know why he is so ill mannered,” Nate nudged Will with his shoulder pushing him off a bit while laughing.

“Well you guys joke now but my rugged behavior will be needed when we cross the desert to the forests. We can’t all be looking like we were raised in castles or we will be taken for fools and robbed on our journey. So you tease me now but you will be thanking me later. And Shae, I need you to stop acting like you are so much older than us. You are only two years older than us, why you're a woman now and we are still boys is beyond me,” Will put emphasis on ‘boys’, disgusted that he can’t be trusted to take care of himself in the eyes of the adults he has known all his life. A silence fell over the group, “Did I say something wrong?”

Shae sighed, “So you told him about your plan about leaving the village then?”

“Of course I told him. No way in hell would I leave him behind. We are all each other's got.”

“I already told you what my father said, “After the wars of the world came to an end, there are too many unknowns in the dead zones. There is no telling when a solar storm will start, or if there are any infected on the way, let alone thieves and murderers. And lastly we have no maps or navigation of the terrain we would be crossing to get to the forest, or through the forest when we get there.”

Nate looked down again taking a deep breath, hesitant about his next words, “I know how to get to the forest. There is nothing for us here anymore.”

William and Shae both looked at their friend in confusion and surprise at what he just said, “Why have you never told us you have a map to cross the desert? If the elders knew there was a legit way to cross then they might finally vote to leave this place.” William was excited and there was a glow about him. He was about to ask another question until he saw Nate’s expression.

“I don’t have a map,” Nate’s eyes were low and he stared at the ground taking a breath before continuing, “My dad made me memorize the entire trip as he did. But when we got here he offered to write down on parchment the way back to the forest, but the elders wouldn’t allow it. They threatened to kick us out if we ever discussed the map. We were allowed to stay if we claimed we made it here purely out of luck, yet if we did mention it we would be banished and we would not receive any provisions for the return trip. I was only six at the time, I wasn’t strong enough to make it back with minimal food and shelter. So my father agreed to the terms and told me to never mention to anyone that I knew the way back. It was deemed taboo to leave this village. That is why the elders keep voting that we stay in this place. I’m only telling you two this now because I am going home. I can't stand this place anymore and I want you two to come with me knowing that there is a way to cross that won’t lead us to our death.”

Shae brought her hand up to the middle of her chest where a locket lay, resting above her collar bone, gently rubbing it with her thumb as she always did when she was deep in thought. It was a copper heart attached to a thin silver necklace with a latch that kept the locket closed. “Six years ago you gave me this saying that it was your mother’s, you said that somewhere in the forest is a key that unlocks this heart and the mysteries of the past lay inside the heart of the world.,” Shae looked down at the necklace with a sad expression, “I don’t want to leave my father here, but I would very much like to see your home, meet your mother, and maybe go look for this key you speak so highly about,” giving Nate a smile that warmed the the tension in the air, “If you leave then I will come with you.”

Nate let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding and gave her a smile back. Looking at Will on his right with eyes that challenged his courage, “What say you Will? You ready to be our rugged body guard on this venture?”

Will gave out a booming laugh, then realizing he had to keep it down so as to not draw any unwanted attention. With a devious smile and pent up energy Will replied, “When do we leave?”

Nate looked at Will, then at Shae, then straight ahead. With a wicked smile on his face Nate stood up and looked down at his family, “I already have the provisions we will need. As soon as this storm is over there will be a sweep and people will be worried about recovering their things that may have been claimed by the sands. During that time we will take what we need and leave this place.”

The storm passed. The people of the village acted just as Nate knew they would. The three ventured to the East side of the village where prying eyes would not see them. As the sun set over the village the three stood at the edge of town, each with sacks on their backs, and two camels with supplies on their sides. Eager to be back home no one was stopping Nate from leaving this village. But what Nate couldn’t account for were the numerous trials that he and his friends would encounter on the way,