The Sand in Our Gears

Prologue

"Halt!"

Alejandro's stallion reared when a small figure jumped in their way. The horse yanked up its front legs with a shrill neigh, missing the boy's head by a hair's breadth. "Ho! It's all right, Aaron, it's just some kid." Alejandro calmed down the prancing animal. Crying out in shock, the boy tumbled backward, lost his balance, and fell on his bottom.

"Ouch..." The child flinched, rubbing the end of his back.

"Out of my way, kiddo. Now!" Alejandro shouted, his horse nervously prancing on the spot as he held her reins firmly to stop her from running the runt over.

"Wow, you are tall!" Brushing sand and dirt from his cut-off pants, the boy got back to his feet and stared at the lanky teen in the saddle. The dust between them settled and the horse calmed down, and Alejandro took a closer look at the feisty road blockade. Scrawny and small, the kid didn't look older than five, but the mischievous sparkle in the big blue eyes gave him a cheeky air, adding at least two years. His jeans looked older than him. Worn, covered with stains of dirt and origins impossible to tell. They were too short for him and revealed two thin, sunburnt legs. The once white shirt wasn't in a better condition. The small face was bronzed by the sun, the skin above the nose peeling off. A mop of hair of the color of bleached straw reached down the boy's neck, surrounding his head like a cloud.

The kid's wide grin revealed white baby teeth, the two upper incisors were missing.

"Really fucking tall, damn!"

Alejandro silently disapproved of the language, especially coming from such a small child, but he probably didn't know any better. Homeless orphans roamed the outer rim of the desert like rats an abandoned fodder silo. Also, he couldn't help grinning, the genuine awe and excitement were too endearing. A sentiment his horse didn't share; Aaron nervously pawed the ground, the ears twitching back and forth, waiting for any sign from Alejandro that'd justify him bolting. Fearless, the boy bounced around them, patting Alejandro's long legs, barely reaching his black riding boots.

"And dark! You're from the South, yeah? Fuck, that's so cool! You never get sunburnt, no? Damn, the dumb sun burns me all the time. Look! Almost burned my nose off! Mom said I'm gonna end as a crispy chicken one day. What's your name? Crispy chickens are dandy! But I don't wanna become one, no, Sir! How tall are you? I bet you are taller than my dad!"

A flabbergasted, Alejandro watched the kid who had no qualms bubbling away at a stranger who was at least twice his age and could easily break his neck. Not to speak of what Aaron would do to him if Alejandro stopped patting the horse's throat.

"I don't know about your dad. But you have to step out of my way. I'm in a hurry." He gave up on waiting for the kid to catch his breathe and raised his voice over the boy's, successfully interrupting him but he didn't move. He looked at the rider and his horse and to the bush he had hidden behind moments ago. His smile turned into a wicked grin. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he placed himself in front of the rider in a wide stance.

"When you wanna pass, Sir, you gotta pay!"

"Pay?" Alejandro bit down a laugh. He leaned on his saddle, his fingers playing with the reins. "Collecting toll or robbery?"

"Robbery, of course. I'm not a baby!" His chin held high, the boy looked seriously up at him.

"Of course." He nodded solemnly. "And what if I don't pay?"

"Then I'm gonna beat you up!" The boy huffed himself up to gain a few inches but only blew up his cheeks. "You better be payin', Sir!"

"Well..." Alejandro jumped off his horse. "I'd pay a toll, but if an urchin like you thinks he can rob me, I better teach you a lesson. I'm not very fond of robbers, you know." Tilting his hat back, he allowed the kid a better look at his face. Dark, almost black eyes glared down at the boy. He was tall for his fourteen years and dark fuzz already covered his cheeks and chin, still thinned in several spots, but already hinting at the full beard they would be able to grow in a few years. The narrow ridge of his long nose gave him a stern, disgruntled look when he didn't smile. He was often mistaken for an adult from a distance but his natural brown skin was free from any sign of age, except for the thin lines of an overthinker on his forehead that now deepened into a disapproving frown.