The blistering sun beat down on my patchy scalp as I lugged the gourd through the sand. My flesh burned from the heat, the only thing that moved me forward was the idea of dying here in the burning sands, face down with my head surrounded by the heat-soaked grains. The light danced in my eyes as I made sure to not look at the ground nor the sky as they both produced a glowing reflection of the rays that pierced the atmosphere. I was so close, only a quarter of a kilometer until I finally reached my village, the sand began to clump more and more near my gourd until it began to labor my steps even more. One step at a time was unsavory, I had a second wind and began to thrust my gourd back over my head and began to sprint once I finally saw my village.
Thatched houses danced in my vision as I drew closer and closer to the abodes, the dunes of sand in front of me did little to impede on my advancement. Anticipation filled my head of some sort of shade, it felt like an eternity since I had a sip of water, as it was against my morals to have the first sip of water of the gourd I got for my family. Not since the river had I drank, which was no less than four kilometers from my village, just the thought of the soft, clear liquid running through my neck made me run even faster, faster and faster. I was surprised to see where I was once I snapped back to reality, I had almost ran into somebody. I looked up and had to squint my eyes to see past the blistering sun. The sun beat down so aggressively even the wooden crosses near our village huts gleamed and reflected the light. After my eyes adjusted I looked at the men and was immediately shocked, fair, olive skin and fashioned textile clothing. My first reaction was puzzlement, they didn't seem the least bit interested in me, instead they were talking to one of the older people in our village. I had no idea what either of them were saying, speaking in a tongue I was unfamiliar with. The native to our village was clearly unskilled in his speaking skill and it showed by the quizzical look shared by the group of men. I rushed inside to where I found my mother, she was glad to see me and the first thing I asked her before I even put the gourd down was "Who are the men outside?!". I almost scared my mom by how loud and intrigued I sounded, but she answered back "I don't know, nobody knows yet. Somebody is talking to them and the whole village is wondering." I put the gourd down next to her as she poured some water into a tortoise shell and began to sip some of the water, I did the same and said "Their skin is-" She cut me off immediately "Yes, I know. It's incredibly unusual." and she began to drink more of the water. I wanted to shriek and jump at the men outside and ask them every question that raced through my mind, but I restrained myself and kept every last thought to myself.
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Might continue this, it's about the attempted Italian protectorate/colony that they tried to establish in Ethiopia around 1895. Tell me what you think. |