Kar trudged leadenly across the gently sloping ground, his footsteps crunching atop the dried out crust of dirt. In the distance, the shimmer coming off what remained of the lake hung in the air.
Finally. It had been nearly an hour since he left the old docks back at the village.
Kar tried not to feel bad, he'd left at the same time as Elric and the others but hadn't been able to keep up. As usual.
As he neared the water's edge, he could see they were already set up with their nets in the shallows.
He waved weakly to his childhood friend Derek, who gave him a pitying smile, "I was starting to think you'd turned around and gone back to bed!"
"Yeah, yeah." Kar grumbled as he splashed through the water to Derek's father. Elric was one of the last family heads remaining in Riftwater these days; the rest had seen sense and left the village to head East towards the City months ago.
Kar stepped into place and helped spread the net Elric was wrestling with. "Don't push yourself too hard." The older man said, his voice a raspy wisp.
Kar tried not to let his frustration show. Elric had done more than he should have to look after Kar and his family. It's just that he hated being a burden. Hated not being able to keep up. Hated feeling sick and weak and not understanding why.
They worked quietly, the sun tracing its path overhead and back down again. They didn't catch many fish. There weren't many left to catch.
The lot of them trudged back to the village with the sun at their backs, carrying their nets and the day's catch on well-worn sleds pulled behind them with ropes. It hadn't been that long ago, Kar remembered sailing back to shore, the wind filling the triangle sails of their boats.
As they neared home, the skeletons of those same boats could be seen leaning precariously in their now dry berths.
Elric motioned the others to carry on and gently pulled Kar aside. "Listen, I need to talk to you…"
Kar had been anticipating this, dreading it.
"I've tried to put this off, was hoping the rains would come, and the lake would recover some. But I can't chance it any longer. We're taking the family to Iridess… and I want your family to come with us. I know you and Isa don't want to risk moving Nat with her health so bad and all, but I just don't see any other options at this point."
Kar nodded, fighting back the lump that had formed in his throat. "I understand…" He blinked rapidly, trying to formulate what he wanted to say, "and I truly appreciate you sticking around as long as you have. I know you've only done it because you were worried about us…"
He paused and looked down at his feet for a moment. He drew a deep breath, then continued, "If we try to move my aunt, though, I don't think she'll make it."
Elric placed a hand on Kar's shoulder, "Just think about it, ok? It'll take us a couple days to pack up and prepare for the journey, for Lila and I to get the kids ready. Even if you decide to stay behind, we could at least take Isa with us. Of course, we would leave you with all the supplies we can spare and then, maybe later, you know…"
They both understood what was left unsaid. Later, after Nat had succumbed to whatever it was that ailed her. Then Kar could follow them to Iridess.
Excited shouting from the village drew their attention. Derek had abandoned his sled and was racing back towards them, his younger siblings and cousins shrieking and hollering with glee behind him.
"Aldwin's back from the city! He's got a whole caravan of wagons with him!" Derek shouted.
Kar and Elric stood dumbfounded for a moment, then sprinted off toward the village. Kar quickly fell behind.
Aldwin had returned? It had been more than half a year since Elric's younger brother had left. Kar had genuinely thought he would never see the man again. He was thrilled, and yet… he didn't want Aldwin to see Nat, not in the state she was in. More importantly, he knew she wouldn't want him to see what had become of her.
They reached the old docks and clambered up the slope of what used to be the banks of the lake bed. The huts of Riftwater lined the main path and sprawled out along the former shorelines of both the lake and the now mostly dry river bed that fed it.
The wagons Derek had mentioned were parked in the road, their donkey teams tied off next to feed and water troughs set out for them. They looked healthy. It had been a long time since Kar saw anything he would describe that way. There were dozens of men and women too, some he knew—former inhabitants of the town or nearby villages—but most he didn't recognize. They were dusty and well traveled but also well-fed. What was going on? Where was Aldwin?
"Mom said they showed up less than an hour ago." Derek said, short of breath.
"Where's my brother?" Elric asked.
Kar instinctively knew where to look. He started off towards the edge of the village, toward the hut where he and his younger sister had lived with their aunt since she had brought them both here all those years ago. When Isa was a newborn and Kar barely reached Nat's waist.
The old tree's branches swayed weakly in the breeze. It still provided some shade over the hut, though most of its leaves had long since withered away.
As the trio drew near, the front door creaked open and Isa stepped out. Kar's younger sister was only fourteen, and yet her face already wore lines of worry. She was smiling now though as she greeted them. "She's awake!"
Something stirred in Kar's chest, a spark of hope. He hurried ahead and stepped into inside.
Nat was sitting up in her bed, alert, as Isa had said. He couldn't believe it. His aunt hadn't been able to sit upright for weeks, and hadn't been coherent or lucid for almost as long. She'd been bedridden for more than two months now. And yet there she sat, smiling and chatting idly with Aldwin who perched on a simple stool at her bedside, one small, frail hand clutched gently in his much larger one. Her other hand held something else in her lap—a faintly glowing blue object. Despite everything, it was that object most of all which demanded and drew Kar's attention. "What is that?" He mumbled.
Aldwin turned towards them as they entered the room, his eyes red and puffy, as if he'd been crying.
Kar's focus on the object in Natalie's hand didn't escape Aldwin's notice, "Something I brought back with me from the City." He said, "I had hoped it would help with your aunt's… condition. It appears to be working. Though if I had known how serious things had progressed, I would never have waited as long as I did to return."
Nat smiled at Kar as he walked up to her. He found himself tearing up too. It was only then that he realized he had already said goodbye to her in his heart. Had already given up hope on her recovery. But here she was…
"How—?" He choked out.
She released Aldwin's hand and grabbed hold of Kar's far more firmly than he thought she was capable of, "We'll talk later," She whispered, "I have some things I need to explain to you. Things I should have told you a long time ago."
Kar nodded slowly and squeezed her hand in return, then stepped aside so Elric and Derek could approach. They were practically family, after all.
Kar's eyes were drawn inexplicably back towards the object in Nat's hand. It looked like a piece of crystal, a shard of something. And it exerted an inexorable pull he couldn't ignore. He was like a thirsting man glimpsing water in the desert, and yet, he had been unaware until this moment that he was parched at all.
"You're struggling too, aren't you?" Aldwin said softly at his shoulder. Kar hadn't even noticed the man get up from his stool, "Step outside with me."
Kar nodded and followed Aldwin out of the hut. Isa grabbed him by the arm and squeezed as he passed, happy tears pooling in her eyes.
Outside, Aldwin reached into a pouch at his belt and pulled out another shard similar to the one Nat had. He grabbed Kar's hand and pressed the crystal piece into it, "Keep this close, don't lose it. You should feel a change over the coming days as your body feeds on it."
"What-"
"It's not my place to explain it to you, and Nat will do a better job of it anyway. Just… keep it safe, ok? I wasn't able to bring many with me, and I don't know how long the effects will last this far from the City. It's a long way back to Iridess."
Kar nodded, perplexed yet grateful. "What's the City like?" He finally asked.
Aldwin looked off into the distance, a wistful expression on his face, "It's… complicated. Alive, and in ruins, and like nothing I've ever seen before." He looked back to Kar, "Maybe when we return, you'll start to remember it."
Kar startled, considering what Aldwin had just said, "Remember it?"
Aldwin simply nodded and gave Kar a wry smile, "Just another of those things Nat needs to fill you in on."