Star in the Dust

[Dogs231]

NOAH DAVIS: CONTINUED FROM "卒業"

A gust of wind blew through the flatlands, a bitter chill that sang throughout the Great Basin. The sky was pitch dark, barren save for the universe above. Hours had passed since Noah had left the guardhouse, and it was now deep into the night.

He had tried to find a site that he thought she would have liked; he'd found a large shrub that would give the ground some shade in the day. He wished he could have found her a better sanctuary, but this was as good as he could find in their prison.

Noah rose to his feet, looming over the empty grave like a great tree. His fingers ached with a dull pain, the skin of the tips worn to bleeding, the nails cracked and broken.

He'd dug it with his bare hands. It had taken so long, so much effort, but it was worth it, he told himself, worth it as long as Sayuna could rest in peace.

Noah took a breath, then rubbed his tired, sore eyes. Dark circles had formed around them; there was no rest that night. He hunched over his bag and reached inside, fished out a water bottle, took a drink, and tossed it back.

Noah's eyes darted to Sayuna's body, motionless beside the grave. He took a step towards her, then kneeled by her side. He lifted her gently and placed her carefully within the makeshift tomb, then brushed her eyes closed with his hand.

"Goodbye," he muttered, broken-hearted, "I'll miss you."

Noah covered the body in soil, then sand, and rose back to his feet. He took two sticks, long and short, and bound them together with a shred of cloth; they then resembled a cross. He stuck the end of the long stick into the earth and wedged it deep within the soil, between the grave and the large shrub behind it, to form an improvised marker.

One of her last requests came to mind, and he shook his head. In his heart, he knew it wouldn't ever come true. After what happened, irrational as he knew it was, there was a part of him that wallowed in contempt.

"I can't forgive that," he murmured, close to silent, "I'm sorry."

Noah stepped towards a large rock by the shrub and sat down as the cold air sent chills down his spine. He wanted to cry, but he had no tears left. He felt an absence within him; he would give anything to hear her voice again, even for just a moment, a lantern to guide him through the darkness.

Noah stared up at the sky.

The only lights left in his life were the moon and the stars. Everything else was gone.

NOAH DAVIS: CONTINUED IN "High Plains Drifter"