Loretta of the Lamp

The end of the road

A chill wind brushed soft over Loretta's face to wake her. It was early, the light of the lamp was only just taking, and the wasteland of the desert around her mellowed from grey tones into a radiant warm hue as she watched. For a moment the sand was still cold from the night, and the wind did not hold the warmth of day.

She strolled to the top of the nearest dune, savouring each inhale of cold air she took.

Taking a seat in sand at the crest of the soft dune, she watched while the caravan came to life as the Jinni rose from their sleep, prepared their breakfast, fed their animals, bundled their children onto their donkeys and laid up the camels with their burden for the day. It was an industrious scene to watch, and one that Loretta was quite happy to be removed from.

It was the first time she had closed her eyes and not dreamt. Admittedly it was only half a night's sleep, but it was still glaringly obvious in her mind. The first time she had woken, Akil and the dream were fresh on her mind, but Akil had been right there to distract her.

This second time, not even the breath of a dream had disturbed her rest, she had fallen into a dead sleep with no recollection of whether she had dreamed or not.

Finally, her nightmares had caught up with her reality.

It felt both ominous and relieving, and Loretta was not at all sure what it meant. She stood and dusted off the sand before she made her way down the hill and back to the camp.
When she arrived, their camels were both saddled and ready to go. Hess was already up on one camel, her strong, sleek arms wrapped firmly around the reigns.

But Akil and Bennou were arguing.

"I think today it's your turn to be driven," Bennou told Akil pointedly, jamming an accusing finger in his face.

"No. Absolutely not."

"Yes. Yes it is. I paid for my camel, and I want to drive it."

"Well it's not my fault you let her drive," Akil jerked a thumb toward Hess.

Loretta looked up at Hess, who grinned and shrugged, flicking her long black braid over her shoulder.

"It's Loretta's fault essentially," Bennou admitted.

"Well I'm not fussy about driving," Loretta said quickly.

"We know!" they both replied simultaneously.

Loretta laughed, "I can ride with Hess if you like?"

"No." They both agreed.

Loretta sighed and picked up her pack before making her way over to the riderless camel.

She managed to mount it herself, and was fairly pleased. The caravan was already moving before Akil climbed up on the camel in front of her. He had clearly won the argument.

"Well done," Loretta patted him on the shoulder patronisingly.

"Not funny," he told her, as he spurred the camel forward.

Their journey continued like this for the next two days, the long loping camel rides across open desert by day and dreamless sleep on the sand by night for Loretta. On the eve of their fourth day out from Doua, they stopped to rest well within the shadow of Misbah. Along the way the landscape had changed, and this night their camp was on the surface of a grassy plain.

The burnt yellow tufts of grass, rocks and tumbleweed that had developed out of the pale sand had now become wide open plains which circled the capital city. Here sheep were farmed and cattle grazed to feed the city. As they had set up camp, the shepherds in the area had offered lamb's meat for an extortionate price, knowing the caravan had spent long days between cities without fresh food, and they did make some earnings, though Loretta wondered if the owners of the flock would realise they were a few lambs less than there should be when they took stock.