RANGO // OӘͶAЯ - Another Outlaw Story [Engl.]

26. Blurred Wishes

Bill walked through the foyer of the town hall. But Angelique's desk was empty. Bill's glance wandered to the office. Maybe she was there with Mayor John. Without knocking, he opened the door.
"Angelique, are you..."
He stopped and looked with surprise that she wasn't there. Just Mayor John, who sat behind his desk. The turtle winced when Bill looked inside and let disappear a letter in a drawer quickly.
"Can't you knock before you open a door?" he asked angrily.
"Uh, sorry," Bill apologized. "I was looking for Angelique. I thought she would be here."
"She is in the archive," John answered.
"Okay, thanks," Bill said as he saw Mayor John wasn't happy about his presence. He left the room and closed the door.

The archive lay in the cellar of the building. Angelique stood on a ladder and browsed an old document file.
Bill knocked against the door frame.
"Hi Angie."
The female fox looked up. "Oh, hi, Bill. Does John need anything?"
"No, but me." Bill came closer and rubbed his hands. "Say, you said, you have a friend in Las Vegas, right?"
"Yes."
"Good, could you do me a favor and could you send him a telegram, whether he could ask some questions to the authorities? Here, I wrote some questions for that I need information."
He handed a paper. Slowly the vixen took it.
"Well, maybe I could ask him."
"Would be great. Thank you."
He turned around, but then he turned around back. "Are you still angry with me?"
The vixen smiled. "Why should I?"
"Well, because of the last time."
Angelique waved over her hair. "No, I understand. I know the feeling of being alone and it makes me sad that my friend is living so far away."
Bill nodded and sighed.
The vixen sighed with pity. "Oh, Bill. Why don't you give yourself a yank on and try to search behind the horizon? I know you asked the salon ladies about women's behavior. Wouldn't it be the best way to put it into practice?"
"But for whom? There is no woman who is qualified for me. Sometimes I wish I could leave that place."
"If no one comes to you, you have to go to them. Make an effort and expand your horizon. I'm sure it will be successful."
Bill avoided her glance. "Maybe you are right. But where? That's the question."
He crossed his arms on his back and left the room. Angelique didn't say a word and let him in peace.

Deep in thoughts the Gila monster reached his room which lay on the top of the town hall in the attic, where he had been living since his childhood. The room had filled with a table, chair and one bed. Books on shelves and posters of old western movie heroes on the wall. He let fall himself on his bed and stared at the ceiling.
He should expand his horizon. But how should he do that? And when? At the moment he was too busy to find the big water for the town. He couldn't leave the place after they tried so much. Maybe with some luck they will bring the water back and everything will be like in his childhood. Then he would go through the world to find the perfect partner. But how long would it take?
With a deep sigh, he rolled himself on the side and let wander his eyes. The shelves were filled with books and a special box. Suddenly he raised his head as he remembered something. He stood up and took the paper box from the shelf. He removed the lid and rummaged around in the box. No long time and he found what he searched. A soft smile placed his mouth when he eyed the candy paper in his hand. He didn't know how long he stared at it, but some when he looked at the window where the sun was going to leave the horizon.
He watched the sunset for a while. Should he try it?

With slow footsteps, Bill went downstairs. His mind crossed only one question and he didn't know what he should do for it. His cogitation was interrupted when his eyes met the office door again.
He heard the voice of Mayor John from the first floor. He wasn't in the office now. In an impromptu decision Bill went to the mayor room and walked purposefully to the desk. With hesitation, he opened the drawer and took the letter what John had hidden so quickly.
He had barely read the first words when...
"You are nosy like Margaret."
Bill twirled around and froze when Mayor John rolled with his wheelchair through the door.
The lizard crammed back the letter in the drawer, but it didn't help.
"William, you know it's against the postal privacy. If you want to read my private post ask me at least."
"No, I didn't read it, it was just a coincidence..."
"William! Margaret would be ashamed of you. She didn't like lies."
Bill put his fingertips together and lowered his glance. Mayor John stopped next to the desk and opened the drawer.
"Read it."
He handed Bill the letter and rolled to the window.
With nervous fingers the Gila monster held the paper and read: "Dear John, how are you? We hope you are fine and the town got a new recovery. Maybe you are happy to see us again, but something came up and prevents our travel plans. We are sorry to break it to you, but we have to write, that we can't come to you to celebrate your wedding anniversary. Maybe next year. We wish you all the best.
With love and kisses your family..."
Names followed, but he didn't read them.
Mayor John rubbed his forehead. "The same as last year. Since Margaret's death, they never want to come together to celebrate our most important day."
Bill kept silent until he dared to speak. "Maybe you could write a letter to sway them."
"They will find new apologizes."
Bill thought. "And if you go?"
The mayor put together his hands. "I can't leave the town. Not yet in that critical times."
It followed a phase of silence.
"William," Mayor John started. "If you ever have a family, be ready that you become uninteresting in older age. The last what you will ever have is your life will be your wife. If you ever find the right one, never let her go again. Or you will regret it for the rest of your useless life."
With that, he turned around with his wheelchair. "I think it's the best to go to Margaret, but don't tell her about the letter."
With that the turtle left the room and let the Gila monster alone with a shocked face.

The sun was lower than before. Just a half bright round flat circle lighted the sky. Bill held his hand over his eyes and didn't know what he should do now. Nervously and restlessly, he walked up and down. Finally, he clapped his hands. "Now or never."

The rattlesnake yawned. But he wanted to keep awake until the sun would disappear. Until now no sign of the bandits. And he hoped they wouldn't try an attack in the night. But his thoughts were also about the strange lizard who came to town.
What was he going to do? There was something cold in his eyes, he had felt it, but he didn't know to sort it. Or was he someone who he feared he could be?
Or was he wrong? He cursed himself. Why did it happen? It hadn't been his fault.
When the last few beams send their last light, he decided to go back to the town hall.
When he was passing the hotel, he eyed it with watchful glance. He kept his eyes glued to it.
The rattlesnake stopped when he was hearing a slowly dark guitar melody.
He turned around.
Raoul, one of the mariachi owls, forced a smile. "It fitted. You were looking to the windows with mistrust."
"Why are you still here?"
"Well," Señor Flan said. "The town gives us a lot of inspiration and you are a good source for dramaturgy."
The rattlesnake rolled his eyes and let the owls with their music instruments alone.
Suddenly he saw Mayor John, who came back from the cemetery and was rolling behind the house of the town hall. Slowly the rattlesnake followed him and peeked around the corner.
On the right to the town hall backyard, there lay a little piece of land, surrounded from a very little, low stony mural.
Next to it Mayor John sat there and looked at it deep in thoughts.
"Come closer, Mr. Jake."
The rattlesnake winced, but he left his hiding place.
With every meter the rattlesnake realized bleak the dried earth in the patch. After he reached him, he stopped and looked at it like Mayor John did. A low wind blew over the landscape.
"It was the dream of my wife to plant a garden with flowers," Mayor John said with quiet voice. "It never happened."
Jake gave him a side glance. "Maybe it had been a nice garden."
John didn't answer after more than one minute. "She loved marguerites."
Jake sighed. "Your wife loved your town, didn't she? You say you love your town, but why do you sell your best things what she had loved too?"
Mayor John sighed deeply. "William can't forgive me that, can he? He loves the things in and around the town like my wife. She took care for him like it would be her son. Our real children left the town many years ago. And we felt a little lonely after that. Margaret took a trip to another town, where she found William. He was an orphan and a slave child on a ranch. The owners harassed him because of that he is a Gila lizard. You know his kind aren't of the friendliest one. Sometimes."
He lay his elbows on the wheelchair side.
Jake didn't want to interrupt his monologue.
"She taught him what she loved, including him. And he started to love the town too. And I did the same."
He looked at Jake with a serious glance. "Maybe I may be just a sentimental old turtle, but I think there is a future for this town. Even if it doesn't look like. And me and William aren't the only ones. You already saw it. All my friends and neighbors. It's a hard life here. Very hard. Do you know how they make it through each and every day? They believe. They believe it's going to be better. They believe that the water will come. They believe against all odds and all evidence that tomorrow will be better than today. People have to believe in something. Right now, they believe in you."
Jake's face became surprised, but serious.
"People have to believe in something. William is also believing in you. But it's more important that we have hope. We still have hope, but the hope is going to seep through our hands and into our mouth."
Jake knew that he meant the last water in the bank.
"Don't think that I'm a bad man," John continued. "But with the selling of my personal objects I can keep alive the town for a while longer. But not forever. My town dies with every day. If the water will be run out, I don't know how much I can snatch from the merchant after that."
He kept quiet for a moment.
Jake divined that he wanted to say something important. And he didn't wait long.
"Mr. Jake." The voice of the mayor sounded pleadingly. "Please find the water, before we perish of it."

Deep in thoughts the rattlesnake slithered through the door of the town hall. He had almost reached his room, when he met Angelique in the corridor.
"Good evening, Mr. Jake," she said. "Is Bill with you?"
"Why should he?" Jake asked with surprise.
"I wanted to ask him something about the information what he wanted, but he isn't in his room."
The rattlesnake looked at her perplexedly. "I'm sorry, I didn't see him."
The vixen rubbed her chin. "Uh, maybe he went into the saloon with his friends. In this case, I will ask him later."
Jake nodded still confused. "Alright."
"Good night."
"Good night."
After Angelique left the building, Jake decided to look for the Gila lizard. Maybe he could ask him something for next steps before he went to bed.
Shortly after the rattlesnake had left the town hall, a familiar voice called out to him.
"Hey, amigo," Chico said. "If you are looking for the big lizard, he rode away with a roadrunner in this direction a short while ago."
Jake thought he misheard. "Where did he ride?"
Chico shrugged his shoulders. "He didn't say. Sorry, amigo."
Jake snorted with irritation. Why should he ride away without to inform him?
He looked around. The night started. He bent down and flicked with his tongue over the ground. Where was he gone? Not far away, he smelled the trace of him. He had taken a roadrunner. The trace guided him between the houses to the desert. The trace showed in the same direction where they had come from that day.
He snapped for air.
Bill! You didn't...

No one had seen him, but he had to be careful.
Bill guided his roadrunner through the desert in high speed.
Just one look. He had to see her once again. How long ago was that? When they were fleeing from the ranch this day, he had seen her running between the hills. It was just a brief moment, but it was enough for him to bring all memories back.
He passed the warning signs, just shortly before the edge of the ranch area, he slowed his roadrunner down. He listened. There was no sound on the ranch. Just a little light lighted the windows of the old house.
He climbed down and crept along the hills which surrounded the ranch. With every touch against a little stone, he winced. Every time he was sure no one seen him, he continued his way.
When he was a child, he had planned to come here somehow. But everyone had forbidden him to set one foot on this land.
He stopped. There was a voice in the distance.
Quickly, he threw himself on the floor. The voice of a man echoed through the valley, but he couldn't understand a clear word. Then there was silence again.
Bill froze in place. Slowly he raised his head and looked over to the house. There was a little shadow near the building. Maybe Joel. He was walking to a big shed.
Suddenly there was a cracking sound behind him not far away.
Bill had a scare and jumped up. He ran several meters aside, stumbled over a stone and slithered down a hill.
In his ears, it was like an earthquake, until he came to a hold.
Damn! Did Joel hear that?
He pressed his eyes together and waited for a shot, but everything kept silence.
But then...
A clicking sound of a trigger.
"Don't move!" a female voice menaced.
The Gila monster opened his eyes widely when he looked into a barrel of a long gun.