Endure

The walk towards the scrapers had been long, and particularly hard on the old sandals Hitoshi was wearing. Travelling in the heat, across the rocks, they'd basically become no more than flaps of fabric, barely held together by the tape he'd lucked upon on his journey.

He shielded his eyes from the sun and looked up towards the large greenery protruding from the windows and bricks of the collapsed scraper. In its prime, he imagined it must have touched the very sun in the sky. The building had long since crumbled past having any door or visible access point, but he'd heard rumors of dwellers living in its shade. There must be some way in, some where he could hide from the coming heat storm.

It took precious time to traverse the perimeter, looking for a window with wooden planks he could ply open, or vines to climb up to the long branches where he could lay in the shade. He saw nothing, and panic began to set in. The sun's path was quickly carving its way through the sky and the temperature was already approaching too hot, too quickly. Hitoshi wiped sweat from his brow and took a breath.

His sandals wouldn't last a walk any further. He needed repairs and rest, and the scorch of the rocks and ruined path would burn his feet in minutes. He had to hide here. His eyes scoured and searched, desperately searching until they fell upon something glinting, dangling off of a lower branch - still a good 20 feet above his head. It was just too high for him to see exactly what it was but it was small, very small, he only noticed it in the first place because of the sun's heavy glare. Now, it was all he was drawn to, his intrigue had been piqued. For miles now, he'd only know ruin, collapse, drought and hunger. This, shimmering… thing… was new.

His bag dropped from his shoulder, almost empty save for some dried rations, and landed on the floor, kicking up some dust as it settled. He reached as high as he could and attempted to pull his body up, leveraging himself on the windowsill he managed to grab. But there was nowhere for his feet, and he slipped off in a moment. He sighed, eyes fixated on the sparkle, desire for shelter almost forgotten. He took off a sandal and threw it up, hopping on one foot he watched it just barely brush against the item and his heart skipped a beat when he heard a faint jingle, like a bell, or old keys. Jewellery? Some kind of dog tag?

He threw the sandal again, but felt a boiling breeze sweep up his back and neck and was reminded of the painful storm due to hit any minute now. He'd missed, again, and replaced the tattered scraps on his feet and hurried around the back of the ruin, mind fixated on the thing hanging just out of reach.

The temperature rose, and rose, and as fear truly set in, a hand reached out of a tiny slither of broken window appearing from the floor, and wrapped around his ankle. He startled back with a yelp, looked down and saw the hand beckoning him. Hitoshi crouched, peering into the hole and saw a hollow, pale face smiling at him. The face said something in a language he did not understand, and rolled his eyes when he realised. Hands gestured a quick "shoo" motion and Hitoshi took a few steps back as the sand and rocks beneath him began to fall down into the building, opening a small gap where he could crawl in.

These must be the dwellers. He'd never seen any in person but had heard of their feral behaviours and wild ways. But now, with the temperature rapidly reminding him of being roasted over a fire, he lowered down to his belly and crawled into the shade of the ruined scraper.

Once inside, he gestured the sign for "thank you" and the pale face beamed warmly and grabbed his wrist, leading him through dark but cool rooms corridors. They climbed up a few floors, using collapsed stairs and tables to advance when they couldn't reach on their own. The pale face hummed a pretty tune as they went, which calmed Hitoshi, it the first form of human noise he'd heard in weeks.

The sun outside had struck the earth to the point that waves of heat were radiating from the ground below. It wouldn't be long now before the boiling happened, the wind itself reaching temperatures that could scorch the skin off his bones. Hitoshi and the pale face were sweating, but safe for now in the shade. Uncomfortable, but alive. He didn't realise where he was being led until he saw green.

A giant tree, no, several giant growths of tree and flora had spouted up out the ground and climbed the scraper, exploding out the side as he recognised from his time looking up. And there, at the end of a branch, sizzling away in the sunlight was the bright... locket? He squinted, the reflection of the metal hurting his eyes. He blinked. A heart shaped locket, hung perilously off the edge of a branch. Hitoshi looked at the pale face, pointed to him, then his eyes, then himself. "You saw me?"

Pale face nodded and smiled, he took a few steps out onto a thick branch, keeping himself out of the glare of the sun and, bracing his hands on the ceiling above, began jumping. Hitoshi reached out a hand, intent on pulling him back, out of harm's way, but the branch wobbled and kept firm. And the locket, he saw, fell off the end and onto the earth outside.

With a flourish of his arms, "Ta da!" The pale face jumped down and ushered both of them further down, into the tunnels beneath the scraper where they could wait out the glare above. Hitoshi marvelled at the craftsmanship, an underground city basically, huts and shelters and smaller tunnels filled with dried meats built almost seamlessly into an old subway station. There were many more pale faces, dwellers, some looking suspiciously some smiling warmly despite the horrendous storm above.

Hours later, after sharing food and water with more dwellers, the temperature outside cooled as night crept in. Hitoshi and the pale face walked together outside. They shook hands, an old custom hitoshi thought strange, but nonetheless was grateful for. They signed thank yous, well wishes and smiled at each other. He waved goodbye fondly and hurried to where the locket had fallen as soon as the pale face had headed back inside.

It was still somewhat hot to the touch, tiny, and barely the size of a walnut. Pure silver, but golden around the clasps with rust. He found himself holding it tightly, but not wanting to open it. There were no expectations and yet he felt that whatever it was in there would be a disappointment. He hooked it over his head and began walking again. He still had miles to go. Eveline and Yuri were waiting out by the bay. He knew they were, he could make it in two more days. Two more days.

When he couldn't sleep that night, thoughts drifting to the pale face, the scraper and the storm, he found himself fingering the clasps of the locket until it popped open, making him jump a little. On purpose or not he couldn't really say, but, as is always the case, curiosity got the better of him and he took a breath before looking inside. A single, barely visible photo of two women embracing, smiling and happy. The temperature had paled the original colours, and he squinted in the dark to see. On the other side, a small sentence. Etched into the metal with a delicate touch, "our love will endure the ages."

With a smile, his eyes closed and he thought, before he passed out in the cooler night air that it was a wonderful thing, that he would get to keep that love alive with the locket close to his heart. A touch of humanity, for the days when he needed it most.