Rompecabezas. - 9. Chapter 9 - The Silver Crow.

[Second Edition]

We found the trail that led away from the cliffs over the dusty scrubland. It was a full day’s trek across a sparse landscape dotted here and there with low trees, acacia (Palo Blanco) mostly, distinguishable by their white trunks. When we stopped we found what shade we could under one of those trees. We were careful with the water, and we walked in virtual silence. All our energy was reserved for the journey.

Looking up into the distance the vast plain stretched to the horizon and shimmered in the intense heat, offering the prospect of a lake or mountains. Something welcoming in the distance that you would never reach because it was an illusion. By the end of the afternoon I was putting one foot in front of the other, forcing myself on. It was will power alone that brought the little white building into view.

It was difficult not to believe that too was an illusion, I had to wipe the sweat from my eyes, and the saltiness stung. Incongruous in the middle of such a vast empty space, a single story whitewashed building with flat roof. Surrounded on each side by a handful of trees, and stretching away to the left a barren looking patch of ploughed earth. I gazed at the little troughs of earth that lined up next to each other in perfect order, and wondered what anyone could possibly grow here. As we got closer I saw there was a well. It was behind a couple of trees, had a metal arch with pulley and rope. I looked over the wall, but it was too dark to see into it.

Jabez called me as he pushed open the wooden door, “What are you doing?” He sounded rather irritated, “Get inside.”

I followed him in and threw my bag on the floor. Then plonked my weary body on one of the wooden chairs around the table. It seemed it was a single room, table and chairs, sink in one corner, small bed against the back wall. Actually I think it was probably a straw mattress, not even a bed. Looked like there was only one small window by the sink, it had an old cloth covering the space.

Jabez had found an oil lamp, without the yellow glow I would not have seen further than arm’s length. The place looked uninhabited to me.

“No one’s here,” Jabez stated, which just made me burst out laughing and earned me a scornful look.

“Really,” I managed to say in between bouts of laughter, and he had joined in.

Laughter is contagious and when we each started to reflect on what we just said, well it was imbecilic comedy drawn out of total fatigue and, I guess, the relief at getting here. That feeling of ‘having made it’ was however tinged with the nervous uncertainty of finding no one at home.

Never mind we were much too tired to think about anything, it was beginning to get dark outside. Jabez closed the door and looking at the straw mattress, seeing it was actually two mattresses, one stacked on top of the other, he called me over.

He was still smiling when he said, “Help put this down next to the other one, it’ll give us more room to sleep.”

That really was the last effort of the day and I sat down on the mattress almost on the dirt floor. I watched as Jabez undressed. Even tired as I was, I could still enjoy looking at him. It made me hard and obviously my watching him had not escaped his attention. I saw a distinct bulge in his pants before he turned away.

He walked back to the table then turned his head towards me. “You better stop looking at me and get undressed before I turn out the light.” I’m sure he was grinning as he said it.

I striped off, put my clothes in a pile and lay down on the farthest mattress. Jabez got the blankets and brought them over, just in case it got a bit fresh in the night, but I doubted it would cool down much. He hadn’t yet turned off the oil lamp and I watched him standing there, slim smooth brown skin, my eyes followed those tanned legs up to his skimpy briefs and I delighted in the barely concealed promise of his wonderful manhood.

I know he in turn was looking at me, my own hard on was equally obvious to see. He turned around, then paused, ‘what a tease’ I thought to myself, but at the same time I could not take my eyes off his cute little ass. The beautiful curve of his buttocks covered by the flimsiest material. Despite being completely wiped out by the day’s trek, my cock stood up pointing at the ceiling and making a little damp patch on my pants.

The light went out and then I felt him lie down on the mattress next to me. I rolled on my side to face him, grabbed him and pulled him across. We lay side by side then, skin to skin, my cock pushed against his groin and I felt his hard on strong against me. We kissed, lip to lip, my tongue pushed gently into his mouth.

“We need to sleep,” he whispered softly as if he didn’t quite believe it.

I stopped kissing him and placed my forefinger on his lips, he wrapped those lips around my finger and sucked moving up and down. My cock responded instantly and pressed even harder into him, juice seeped out from the tip, my mind was going crazy with passion.

He stopped and rolled over with his back to me, but with one hand holding my hand. He gently squeezed my hand in his, then let go, he pushed his body back towards me. My cock was dancing up and down, I don’t think I’d ever been this turned on.

Slowly, carefully, I gripped each side of his briefs, and slid them down off his ass, and with a little help they were gone. I stripped off my own pants and now we were completely naked. He was still for a moment, a moment of intense promise. My heart really did beat like a jack hammer in my chest, I looked at the magnificent curve of his round buttocks, and my cock jumped in anticipation.

I mixed some spit with the juice that was already anointing the head of my cock, then carefully I positioned myself at the right spot. I heard him sigh, a sound of longing, a softly murmured invitation. Slowly, very slowly I pushed forwards and then with just a slight resistance I slid my cock inside him.

*****

The light was slow to brighten the dim interior of the room, I think it was more the rising temperature that woke me. I carefully retrieved my arm that was wrapped around him and slowly inched away, I didn’t want to wake him. In fact I could just stay there forever keeping watch over his beautiful naked body, admiring every curve, delighting in his perfection.

I was in love, in love like I’d never known before. It had crept upon me slowly, subtly, I had hardly noticed, and then last night I was treated to a blissfulness unlike any other I had ever known.

We’d brought some coffee, so I went out to see what I could use to light the fire in the kitchen. Soon Jabez was awake and we were sitting together at the wooden table drinking coffee from old metal mugs, and smiling at each other.

“Do you think he will show up?” I was wondering what we would do if El Cuervo de Plata never came back, and if he did, how long we might have to wait.

“He’ll be here,” Jabez reached out to take hold of my hand, “be patient, we just have to wait. If Absolam said we would find him here, then we will.” He gently squeezed my hand as if to reassure me.

I looked up into his eyes and saw his love for me, “I think I could stay here forever with you.”

He leaned over the table and kissed me.

The day that followed was hot and empty, we waited. We waited from dawn till dusk. We drew water from the well, scraped together a meal, watched the horizon. Nothing, no one showed. We simply couldn’t stay here forever doing nothing, for one thing there wasn’t a whole lot left to eat.

*****

That night I had a dream, a strange enchanting and vivid dream. I looked out from the whitewashed little building across the barren arid landscape, past the cliffs and far across the ocean to where the sky touched the sea.

The moon lit the night and glinted off the water which was far below. There was no wind and the only sound was the distant crashing of the rolling waves that climbed up to a crest only to fall back down in an endless motion, pulled across the earth by the force of the moon.

Then I heard another sound, faint at first, but growing louder as it approached. It was the noise made by rapidly beating wings that sliced the air. I saw the shadow on the water and then the moonlight reflected on the creature, a bird whose feathers shimmered an intense blue, a blue that was so dark and deep that it was almost as black as the night.

I felt the air pushed against my face as it flew past without looking, not deviating from it’s path. I turned my head in the direction it was heading. And then it shone as if lit in a blaze of light, it shone as silver as the moon, and was gone, disappearing towards the cliffs and over the vast empty land beyond.

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