Nomads

Chapter 3, Pt 7- Black is a Cold Colour

Two nights had passed, Alsaqr was barely alive, he had run out of his dried food. He had been burning the firewood he had left with him for short periods of time in order to get water from the snow, and also some warmth. He slept cuddled near the horse’s belly in the night, he did not want to use the little firewood he had left in a single night.

On the third day, hunger had gotten to his brain. He had no idea of what he was doing and his morale had given in. He had been looking the corpse of Safia eagerly since the morning. The carcass was still fresh and the thoughts of eating the meat from her felt more than appetizing. Oh, the things that hunger makes people do. He reached out for his knife and slowly began to tear the skin near the horse’s neck. He cut a piece of flesh and lit a small fire from the last bit of firewood he had left. He roasted the meat and ate it with tears in his eyes. The taste of proper food in mouth was overwhelming, the sweet meet that tasted like a combination of beef and venison. But the extreme guilt that his conscience was pouring into him of eating the poor horse. He thanked God for the food.

The next day as he laid down beside the horse, looking at the blue winter sky, he heard distant voices. At first, he thought that he was hallucinating out of exhaustion and hunger. But the voices grew closer and closer. Suddenly it felt as if the voices were right above him. Alsaqr looked in the direction of the trail from which he had fallen. Right there, there was a small caravan of strange people passing. He was suddenly filled with excitement and the adrenaline rushed through his body.

He started shouting and waving at them, some people leading the caravan on horseback looked down. They saw a dead horse and man waving and screaming at them from below. They immediately stopped the caravan, and climbed down to help Alsaqr.

Alsaqr was in tears and crying loudly, he was shouting praises for the god that he had been saved. They bandaged his legs with some herbs and lifted him and his belongings up to the trail where the caravan stood. He looked at them closely and found them to have very fair skin and sharp small eyes. They were talking in a language that he could not understand. They even attempted to ask him a few questions but found it hard to communicated. At last they pointed in the direction they were going and Alsaqr nodded. They made him sit in a horse cart that was carrying goods. When they started to move, Alsaqr took one last look at the horse that laid there peacefully. He smiled at it in tears and overwhelmed by emotions.

“I am sorry I could not give you a proper burial”, he said softly, “you took me so high up on this mountain even on that stormy night, you protected me from the chill and fed me your meat. You saved my life; you were there even after your death. Although our journey was short, but you made me survive. Even though I could not bury you, I pray to God that snow falls on you, on such a stormy night and it buries you underneath its cold blanket. Your grave shall lie on this frozen mountain, honored and respected by the winds and spirits that have witnessed our short battle for life.”

He then stared at the snow-covered mountains around him as the caravan proceeded. He breathed heavily, in the cold. And with a new hope in his mind, his journey for Tibet continued.

End of Chapter

P.S.- *So, to all the people that have read until here, thank you so much! It means a lot to me. These stories are my way to get out of my anxiety and depression for a while. Thank you for reading! Next chapter coming soon.💙*

💙Special thanks to my lovely girlfriend who has been supporting me all along. It's due to her that I have been able to continue and keep writing. I LOVE YOU, BABE.💙

Thanks to Ena for designing my cover. :D