The sun was scorching. The sand blowing against my face felt like tiny shards of glass. It has been a little over three months since my escape, and two days of walking in this desert. The sun was getting low, and it was time to find a decent place to camp out tonight. I wrapped the red coat, tightly around myself. It would get cold at nighttime. I kept walking, even though the sand blowing against me kept me from seeing much. My boots were already filled to the rim with the sand, and a couple of needles from a cactus. I'll clean it out when my camp is set up. The sky turned into deep orange as the sun began to set, and the cold began to set in. My pace became faster, and suddenly I spotted something in the distance, it looked like lights!

"Better not be a mirage," I mumble as I begin to walk towards the lights. Sure enough it was a village, a crowded one too. The houses looked as it they were built in a hurry. They village was located around an oasis. The buildings were built in such a way that the further one got away from the oasis, the sparser the number of buildings became. Perfect. I was parched, I walked over to the fresh water and take my coat off, revealing my scarred arms. I kneel down and begin to form a cup with my hands, the cool water flows into my palms. A refreshing taste enters my mouth as I swallow it. I then proceed to splashing my face with the water when I am interrupted by a tug on my arm. 

"Hey!", a little boy, no older than 6 yells. "Hey you can't clean yourself here!".

I look down, "Then where can I clean in?"

"Come, my father owns an inn," he replies. Turning back the boy scurries down the dirt road. I pick up my red coat and follow. "Here," he says, finally stopping in front of a building that looks like it was built by the second little pig. The boy tugged at my sleeves once again, "Come on, let's go in!". As we walk in, I see a man who is short and has a very stressful look on his face. He is talking to another man, who is taller and he seems to be demanding something. 

"Please," the shorter one begs. "Give us more time,". 

The taller one scowls, "We've given you two extra weeks! That should've been enough!". The taller one then closer to the shorter man and fires a shot near his feet. "That's a warning, next time I won't miss."

I sigh, not this again. Walking closer, I say, " You know you shouldn't be acting like that."

A broad shouldered man enters the building and asks in a deep voice, "Ya wanna to start a fight or something, ya little punk?" 

"Not really," I say. "I wouldn't want to hurt you,". Upon hearing this, the tall one starts coming towards me, ready to swing. I smile, "Don't say I didn't warn you,". As he was swinging, I move back to avoid the impact. I punch him in the jaw, and the moment my fist makes contact with his face, he flies sideways and smashes into a table.

The broader one looks like he is about to explode, but instead he only drags his friend out, "You haven't seen the last of us!" he yells. 

I turn around calmly, "Ah, sorry about the table. At least you won't be seeing them anytime soon, by the way, I'd like to book a room,". 

The man looks at slightly scared at first but then he smiles and shakes my hand, "Thank you! Thank you so much!" 

"I'm not used to this much gratitude," I say.

He laughs, "Well sir, you've just saved me! I think the least I could do is say thanks! What else can I do for you?"

"A room would do," I answer.

He nods and hurries behind his desk and pulls out the registry, "And your name sir?"

I hesitate, "Call me Flint,". He nods again and scribbles my name down on the paper. 

"Well Mr. Flint, you are in room one, that's right down the hallway," he replies joyfully, handing me a key. 

"You got money to pay?" the boy asks. 

"Nonsense!" the man scolds. "He doesn't have to pay a penny!"

"No that's fine" I reply taking out some cash. "I'm sorry it may not be the currency you have here,".

"No, no that's fine," the man says as he stores the cash in a box.

I take the key and walk down the poorly built inn. The door to my room looks like it is made of a large but thin wooden plank, and it creaks as I unlock it. The room is large, and it has a big open space in the middle of the wall close to the bed. I walk outside and realize that it is actually a balcony. It reveals the true beauty of the oasis, and the calmness of the night. Though the beauty was astounding, it didn't stop the cold from entering my room. The only things that was there to cover the balcony were two thin, pale pink curtains. I pulled them together and tied my coat even tighter around myself. The bed had many splinters sticking out of it, but at least it had a mattress. I huddled onto the bed, and shut my eyes, it was the first time in a long time that I've slept in a real bed. As my eyelids slowly begin to close, I hear a knock at my door. So I get up, and answer and get greeted by the little boy who had led me here. 

"Come," he says, and immediately he begins to run back to the lobby. I follow him through the halls into the lobby, and sit on one of the sofas. "Here have one, I made them myself!" he says happily, holding up a plate that held a large chunk of fried but juicy meat. He hands me a fork, and I begin the devour the meat. 

"What is this?" I ask as I continue to eat. 

"Our goat," he simply replies. "Tastes good doesn't it?".

I nod, "Tastes really good,". The boy accompanies me on the sofa, and stares at the walls. "What's the matter?" I ask. 

His looks at me with his large brown eyes, "You saved my father today, could you help save my mother too? She has disappeared,". 

"What do you mean, disappeared?" I ask.

"She felt hot one night, so she went on a stroll. She walked into the desert, and suddenly a bright light appeared! Everyone saw it! The bright light disappeared soon after, and as my father rushed to check on my mother, I followed too. But my mother wasn't there! She was nowhere," he looks down at the ground. "But you can help find her, right?".

"What makes you think that?" I ask.

"You seem smart, you could probably find her in no time!" the little boy exclaims. As he says this the owner of the inn, probably his dad walks in. 

"Pavel, don't disturb this man!" he scolds. "Can't you see he needs some rest? We should treat him kindly, after all he did save us,". 

I sigh, "Look kid, I'm not who you think I am. I can't help you find your mother, I'm sorry,". I get up from my spot and walk back to the room, my eyes were still half closed. As soon as my head hit the pillow, my eyes closed and I drifted off into a much needed rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wake up with a jolt. Beads of sweat dripping down my face. I walk in front of the mirror to see that my bleach hair is soaked in sweat. It was the same dream, that particular one. I've been having it for the past four nights straight, what was going on? That same boy, in the exact same dark cellar, every single night. He sat on the cold floor, arms wrapped around his knees and he rocked back and forth, back and forth. Suddenly, he stopped, sat upright, folded his arms, and looked straight at me. The fear at this point gripped me with such intensity that I was unable to move. His eyes turn black, he looks forward calmly, as if staring right at me. Then, he did something that I did not expect, he smiled. A cold, cruel smile, all the innocence had disappeared from his face. A few seconds later, I wake up. I quickly leave the room, and leave the key on the counter to the lobby along with a thick roll of bills. It was still nighttime so I pulled the red hood over my head and began to walk out. 

"Where are you going?" the boy, whose name is Pavel, asks.    

I turn around, "I don't know," I admit.

"Are you scared?" he asks.

I nod slightly, "Yes of course".

He runs back into the inn and in about two minutes he comes back out with a sac that is filled with meats, berries and a canteen. "Take it," he says holding the sac out. 

I kneel down and take the sac, "Thanks Pavel, I am very gracious,". He nods and walks into the inn without another word. "Wait!" I call out. He turns around, "Come here, I have a gift,".

"What gift?" he asks excitedly.

I pull out a silver colored locket, and place it in his palms, "Keep a picture of your mom in this, and wear this proudly. Remember that she is always in here," I say placing a hand over my chest. Then I get up and walk into the chilly desert, my mind is still preoccupied with something else from my dream. In my dream, the boy looked like he was crying before being "taken over". Then he was suddenly overcome and his expression changed immediately. It reminded me of my little sister.

Not again, I thought, a tear rolling down my cheek.