Rabbit

There was no water. At the moment, there were no plants or animals, either. The only thing she could see for miles was sand. So Millie kept walking.

At around noon, she came across a cactus. She shook her canteen and, hearing that it was empty, carefully cut open the cactus and collected the juice inside. Once she had all she could carry, she took a small sip, just enough to wet her mouth. Then she kept walking. Every now and then, she’d drink a little more, just enough to keep her hydrated. After all, she didn’t know when she’d find another.

At around sundown, Millie caught a rabbit. She quickly set up a fire and skinned it. She shoved the meat straight into the fire, then pulled it out with her knife and let it burn until the flames went out. Unable to wait for a moment, she sliced it open and ripped off a shred. She tossed it from hand to hand for a bit before shoving it into her mouth.

She hadn’t had a treat like this since she was ten years old. It had only been three months since she’d had meat, but that was snake, and snake was tasteless. She decided she liked rabbit better.

Millie had just finished a quarter of the rabbit when she heard a soft, heavy breathing. She grabbed her knife, ready to fight for her meal. But instead of a wild cat or a coyote, what she saw was something she didn’t think existed.

Another human.

It was young, probably no more than five years older than Millie. It had choppy, short hair the color of sand and kind brown eyes. It was tall and thin and had multiple tools strapped to its sides.

“Hello,” it said. Millie decided it was male. He took a step towards her, hands up. “I saw your fire and smelled something. Do you have food?” Millie just stared at him. “Could you lower your knife, please?” He smiled at her. So she lowered her knife, walked to the fire, and gave him the untouched half of the rabbit. She sat back down.

Much to her annoyance, he chose to sit beside her. “Thanks for the rabbit. I found some prickly pear a little while back. It’s still good. Would you like some?” Millie nodded, and he drew a cactus-like plant from a pouch on his belt.

“Thank you,” she mumbled. Her voice was rusty and made her cringe. The man’s face lit up.

“You’re absolutely welcome. Just tell me if you want more, okay?” Millie nodded and bit into the prickly pear. It was warm from the sun and the man’s body, and sweet like the peaches Millie used to like before the Fire. She quickly finished the treat and licked the juice off her fingers. She glanced at the man. He was obviously holding back laughter, which made Millie blush. For once, she was thankful for the heat that made her face constantly flushed.

They continued their meal. The man chattered on about the desert and different plants that were edible or poisonous. Millie listened with the knowledge that he could die any day and she would need this information. Eventually, the rabbit and the prickly pear were gone and the fire burned to embers. Millie poked it with a stick, then got up to begin her nightly routine. The man watched her. “What are you doing,” he asked.

“Setting traps.”

“Why?” She looked at him and frowned. Didn’t he know how dangerous the desert was at night?

“So we don’t get eaten.”

“Don’t bother with the traps. I’ll keep watch. Just give me your knife. I’ll wake you up around midnight.” Millie hesitated. There was a good chance he’d wake her up with a knife in her back and steal her supplies. There was also the fact that he seemed too nice to kill anything, even if it threatened them. Upon seeing the look on her face, he smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.” Millie looked at the ground.

“I’d rather set the traps.” He sighed, but nodded and turned to the fire. They worked in silence after that. Once they were finished, he went to bed without a word. Millie watched him until she was certain he was asleep before curling up herself.

Millie woke up before the man did, just as the sun was rising. She checked the traps, and found a small snake in one of them. She started a fire and began to butcher it. There was enough meat to satisfy only one, but it was better than nothing.

The smell of cooking flesh woke the man. He offered some prickly pear, and she cooked it with the snake.

“I didn’t ask your name last night,” he said awkwardly. “That was rude of me.” Millie just stared at the fire. “I’m Jacob.”

“Millicent.” Jacob smiled.

“That’s a lovely name.” Millie blushed. This time, it was noticeable, and it made Jacob laugh. Millie pulled the food from the fire and they ate. “Millicent….” Millie looked up at him. “Could I travel with you? I understand if you don’t trust me, but it would be nice to have a friend.”

“Sure.” Jacob beamed.

“Fantastic!” Millie smiled and put out the fire. The pair packed their few belongings and set off towards the sun.

For the next few months, Millie and Jacob walked together. Jacob would talk about life before the Fire and crack jokes. Millie would giggle and put in a word or two. She grew comfortable enough to let Jacob keep watch. Eventually, she even let him cut her thick, black braids into chin length curls. She couldn’t stop shaking her head after. That made Jacob laugh, and she liked hearing him laugh. They shared their pasts and their hopes for the future. And, oddly enough, Millie stopped hating the desert and the heat and the Fire that brought it all.

“Millie,” Jacob said one night after dinner. “What do you think you’ll do if we find water?” Millie shrugged.

“First thing? Probably drink a lot. Maybe bottle some up. If there’s a lot, though, I might go swimming.” Jacob laughed.

“Swimming?”

“Yes. I like swimming. Or, I liked it.” Jacob nodded, smiling.

“Swimming’s good exercise. I used to go to the pool after work to stay in shape. It felt good to stretch after sitting all day.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“What’ll you do if we find water?”

“Drink, just like you. If there’s enough, I’d try to find some fish to cook instead of scaring them off swimming.”

“That’s a good thing to do.” Millie leaned on Jacob, and he put an arm around her. This was the way things were now. And Millie was thankful for the stranger who came and asked for a rabbit.

Around two years later, Millie and Jacob began to see batches of grass in the sand. They picked up their pace. As the week wore on, the patches grew larger and more frequent. They began running. The next day, the patches connected and became a field. Mille stopped and hugged Jacob.

“I never thought we’d make it,” she whispered.

“Me either.” They continued walking. Soon, the grass became sand again, but at the end of the sand was water. Water as far as the eye could see.

Millie squealed and ran to the edge. She scooped the water up with her and sand drank. It was salty, much too salty. Millie spat it out while Jacob laughed behind her. Ignoring him, she shed her boots and socks and stepped into the water. The sand was squishy beneath her toes and the gentle waves soaked the hems of her pants.

“Millie, look!” She glanced behind her. Jacob was running towards something in the distance. She followed him. Swimming would have to wait.

Soon, they were in front of an old shack. The roof was caving in and there were scorch marks on the wall, but they had survived eight years in a seemingly endless desert. This was nothing they couldn’t fix. Millie took Jacob’s hand and went inside.