The Price

- « We're lost. »
- « We're not lost, we have a map. »
- « It has been very useful til now for sure! »
Hayden flashed furiously at Leisha who was still staring at the arid landscape by the car's window. Her blue haired ponytail flitting around her face. She was waving at herself a magazine as a fan. Hayden was driving on a never-ending straight line in the middle of the desert, trying, without much success, to find the way to L.A.
- « You and your jobby shortcuts » Leisha mumbled.
- « Not this again! »
- « And why not? Did I told you or not to stick to the usual road? »
Hayden suddenly braked, swerved, making Leisha slipped off her seat, and parked on the side of the road.
- « Are you bonkers? »
- « Enough! We need to calm down, both of us! I'm bloody dying of heat and thirst and you, you obviously need a ciggy! »
Leisha let out a deep sigh but agreed and untied her seatbelt.
- « I surely need a shower... »
She bended over the back seat, grabbing her bag and took out a cigarette pack.
- « Shite! I don't have any more left... »
Hayden grabbed a bottle of water in the glove box and drink a sip.
- « Yuk! It's warm! »
Leisha sneered.
- « We're so dead. »
Hayden could not help but smile and they stayed in a comfy silence for a moment.
- « So » Hayden said after a while « we have to deal with that. We're lost in the middle of the desert right now. »
Leisha was about to answer when she saw something. Around them was nothing else than a golden and arid landscape but, to the right, a black dot stained the horizon.
- « Hayd, look... »
The young man slightly bended over.
- « Hm? Don't change the subject, did we go back, or did we stay on that road? »
- « I'm not changing the subject dummy, look! »
The dark form looked like a building but, from there, it was impossible to know more. Hayden frowned.
- « Perhaps it's an abandoned shack... »
Leisha didn't pay attention to the comment and got out of the car. Despite her shorts and plain green shirt, the heat was smothering. She started to move forward to the form.
- « Leeei! »
In a hurry, Hayden got out of the blue Mustang they had rented for their dream honeymoon : an American road trip. He followed her, flustered, grabbing his shirt which was stuck to the sweaty skin of his torso.
Leisha and him walked until they saw clearly what the form was. It was indeed a building but not at all an abandoned shake. Exclusively in wood, it looked beam for beam like a saloon from an old western.
The couple was starry-eyed in front of the big sign with shimmering letters saying: DRINK, FOOD & TABACCO.
- « Thank you! » shouted Leisha, looking at the sky above.
Hayden smiled and pushed the double door. A little bell, right above them ringed as they entered the shop. In front of them, a large wooden counter was following the wall and, behind it some liquors and cigarettes were standing on the shelf. Everything was disturbingly dark and dusty, the floor wood cracking under their steps. It was like the place was frozen in time for decades now.
However, before they could share their discomfort out loud, there was a rushed noise and a man got out of the back door of the shop, hidden behind an old red curtain. He was short, pink and fat. Every inch of his skin looked like it had been covered in oil and he was wearing a black suit completely out of place in the western atmosphere. Some grey hair was missing on the top of his round head.
- « Welcome sir, miss. What can I offer you? » He said with a fawning voice.
Hayden and Leisha shared a glance.
- « Hm Hi. We would like to buy... hm some water and cigarettes. » The young man asked.
- « Of course, of course! Right away, right away! »
Leisha shrugged as the dealer was preparing the bottle and pack of cigarettes. Hayden whispered to her ear.
- « Not sure it's a very touristic place. »
- « Ah! You'll be surprised sir! »
Hayden raised an eyebrow, surprised that his whisper had been heard. The men put their items on the counter with a strange frozen smile.
- « May I ask where are you from ? » He asked.
- « Edinburgh » replied Hayden as he took the bottle and pack. « It's our honeymoon. »
- « Scottish lovebirds ! » He giggled with a squeak. « It's been centuries since I last set foot on the old continent.
Keen to leave as fast as she could the disturbing presence of the seller, Leisha searched quickly for her wallet and picked out her credit card. The man looked at it before shaking his head, still smiling exaggeratedly.
- « Sorry, we do not take cards. »
Leisha mutters, looking high and low for some cash that she knew she didn't have. While doing the same in his own wallet, Hayden whimped:
- « F... I'm sorry, we don't have any cash left... »
He put back the items on the counter but the seller suddenly lost his smile and quacked:
- « Oh no, no, no ! Please, please, it's for me. »
Hayden was wide-eyed. Not that the gesture was very generous -a bottle and a pack of cigarettes weren't very expensive- but for a little drugstore lost in the desert, he would have thought that any cent was a blessing.
- « Sorry? » The young man stuttered.
- « Yes, yes, it's for me, please! Take it as a wedding gift! » The man insisted, nodding as a stick puppet with an odd and pressuring smile.
Leisha looked at Hayden and took the items carefully, as they were about to explode.
- « Well. Thanks' a lot sir. »
- « The pleasure is all mine miss. Farewell. »
The dealer stared at them as Hayden and Leisha hurried outside. When they took a look inside, by the dusty window, the man had disappeared, the red curtain still moving on the back door. They glanced at the presents for a while, intrigued.
Then, without a word, in a mute agreement, they threw them away in a dumpster, in front of the shop. They drove away in a rush, without casting a glance at the uncanny shop.
If they had, they might have noticed, hidden in the shadow of the building, hundreds of clods of earth, final resting place of travelers a bit lost, so thirsty or just in need of one cigarette...