Specks of sand rolled around the hot ground, covering every inch of the land. The sun beamed like a spotlight in the sky. Folks were devastated by the absence of shadows and the lack of cold relief in the town of Berth. Ever since the summer of 2039, they had not experienced any other kind of weather. Most were confused by how the town had slowly lost all its greenery and liveliness. The town had turned into a desert with only dry cacti left around. People were astounded for a while and many left the town. But some were deeply attached to their birthplace, and so they adapted to the weather, pledging to survive until the end.
Somehow, the population of cacti in Berth was higher than that of people. Foliage yellowed and dead, yearned for any breath of life. Berthian people got used to avoiding the skies. The sky became an enemy they despised as well as a friend they longed for. The days were never ending and time had become meaningless due to the town being located near the pole. All of them walked around with their heads turned down. Their eyes were always fixated on the hurried footsteps they took to crawl back to their dingy homes. Their faces were hidden under the darkened pongee umbrellas which were getting thicker every month and fancy sunglasses indented their noses. Windows and patios of homes were covered with pitch black cloths depriving them of the outside view. Multiple small shops around the town were dedicated crafters of umbrellas, hats, sunglasses, portable mini fans, and all other possible gear to avoid the heat. Despite the blinding rays that fell upon the city every second of the day, the town was becoming darker than space.
Many roads and shops were covered with shaded cloth attached to pillars that dug deep into the sandy ground. Children only played inside interiors and people limited the time they spent outside as much as feasible to avoid unwanted accidents. Different people tried to volunteer to solve the issues faced by the town but usually failed in their endeavours. The town had become dark and miserable over time. Outsiders had nicknamed Berth as “The Cursed Mirage,” believing it to be a nightmare that shouldn’t exist.
Inside a tiny cabin that stood alone circled by a group of cactuses, a man sat in front of the un-blackened window sill. His refrigerator hummed while sweating with effort as it struggled to stay frozen. The ceiling fans chirped along to fill the heated silence. He never flinched when the rays hit his eyes and was always adequately hydrated. The sand had settled onto the red oak table and his dusty bookshelf. On rare occasions, a few people gasped at the sight of his cabin observing the absence of black and even the air conditioner but usually, he remained unnoticed. His skin was pale and undamaged, his straight hair as smooth as silk. Every day he sat at the window patiently and scribbled in his journal. He had recently moved to Berth as he heard wonderful stories about the town before it turned into this damaged state.
Nobody had met his eyes before or even acknowledged his umbrella-less presence. Whenever he roamed around the town, people were busy protecting themselves from the needles of heat pouring from above. He was the opposite of Berthian people as he would analyse and study every part of the town, at any chance that he got. Always searching for something or noting down small changes around the place. With a long black coat falling just above the ground and black pants hugging his thin legs, he looked like a walking tree trunk. He wore a crimson shirt underneath which was solid like a piece of weak armour. It had golden engravings on it that sparkled in the sunlight.
He scribbled a bunch of question marks in his journal when suddenly his eyes met with a native Berthian standing in front of his window. His sunglasses reflected the sparkle of his crimson shirt. Xell had never seen him around town before. He was a new face which sent a sense of excitement down his throat. Someone who stood there, acknowledging Xell’s presence and not walking away from his cabin. Xell drew the blinds for the first time in a while, took a deep breath, and then stepped outside his front door. The Berthian was still looking around his house, holding his hat with his hand to make sure he didn’t turn his head too high exposing himself to the sun rays. Then after a few seconds, he turned his head towards Xell.
“Are you looking for something?” Xell asked him looking intently in his direction.
“Is this your place?” The native asked him back not answering his question.
“Yes.” Xell gave a small reply still hesitant of the stranger guy.
Meeting Berthians for the first time, Xell had only had a few good experiences so far. Due to the tough conditions, Berthians had become close-minded and self-centred. Every time he tried to interact with the natives, he was either ignored or declared a crazy man for being in the sunlight without much protective gear. Survival had become the sole purpose in the lives of Berthians.
“Where is your air conditioner?” the guy asked him with what looked like curiosity in his face.
Xell couldn’t believe what he had heard for a moment. This was the first time he saw a curious Berthian with his head straight up.
“I don’t have one,” Xell replied calmly waiting eagerly for his reaction but to his surprise the native’s expression turned into an annoyed look.
“Wow. You are a selfish person. How can you hide something so useful that could save lives; from other suffering people of the town? Clearly, your house looks cold enough for you to be sitting with the window open. It is because of people like you that this town has become a devastated place.”
After completing his rant, the Berthian walked away quickly not looking back at Xell even once. Xell was left speechless, unable to comprehend what had just happened. This was his longest talk with a native and yet it had ended on a bitter note. He decided to head back to his cabin and ponder about the situation later.
Several days later, Xell decided to head to the market to buy some groceries. Usually, all the shops were completely indoors and the owners provided free cold drinks and ice packs to the natives. At first, Xell struggled to get those free items but the shop owner had slowly started to come around and provide him with the free goods. He went into the shop and immediately saw the familiar face again. The annoyed native had hazel eyes which were uncovered this time due to being inside. He was arranging some items on the shelves. The native noticed Xell’s eyes staring right at him and suddenly frowned upon his presence.
“Des! Are you not done yet?” a voice called from nearby to which the native shouted, “Coming!” and went inside an unknown room.
After being done with his shopping, Xell decided to wait outside for Des to come out. He was eager to have a genuine conversation with someone after a long time. Everyone usually carried thick darkened boxes with ice packs to take their groceries home. It was interesting to see how despite the struggles Berthians faced, they had remained strong and functioned pretty smoothly. Even though most of them were self-absorbed, the community they had built helped everyone to survive and motivated them to keep living day by day.
Suddenly, the shop door chimed and Des stepped outside. His dark box was attached to his back with some sort of leather strings designed specifically for this purpose. Xell looked at his own reflection in his sunglasses imagining the hazel eyes behind them.
“Can we talk about what happened that other day?” Xell asked before Des could leave him behind again.
Des didn’t reply but slowly started walking forward on the path, his boots crunching the sand underneath. Xell matched his pace and walked beside him with his dark box still in his hands.
“It is a misunderstanding. I actually don’t have an air conditioner,” Xell tried to explain as directly as possible, not wanting him to be annoyed again. “I am not a Berthian which is why I am immune to this heat.”
The crunching stopped as Des froze and turned his head towards Xell. For a second he thought he had heard him wrong.
“Are you serious? You are not from here?”
“Yes, of course. What would I gain from lying to you anyway?”
Des paused for a moment before continuing his walk. Xell followed him quietly wondering what was so wrong with not being a native.
“I am sorry for being rude to you before. I didn’t mean to behave that way but I just couldn’t believe what I saw.”
“I know. I am glad you even approached me with questions about it. Most people here don’t really have the time to even glance at my cabin,” Xell paused then continued, “How did you not recognize me as a non-native? I thought my clothes stood out massively.”
“I haven’t been here in 10 years, I am learning things about the town myself.”
“That makes sense. How did you make those strings by the way? Seems much more convenient than carrying the box around with bare hands.”
“I can sell you a duplicate. I love building things that improve my life even in small ways.”
“That sounds nice.”
After walking for a bit, they arrived at Xell’s cabin. Des turned his head towards him and asked in a slightly excited voice, “Can I check out your cabin this time? I admire how different it looks compared to all the other shadow homes around.”
“Of course, you’re welcome to come inside,” Xell replied with a smile on his face. He was particularly happy today as this was the first time he had invited a guest to his cabin.
Des entered inside and was about to take off his sunglasses before he realized he had to keep them on in here. Xell quickly drew the blinds wanting him to feel somewhat comfortable despite the lack of air conditioning. Des looked around the cabin noticing the random objects scattered everywhere. He kept down his dark box near the door and kept his glasses on top of it. On the red oak desk, his journal was left open with a diagram scribbled on the page that was too complicated for Des to understand. Most of the objects lying around were unfamiliar to him. Xell offered him one of the cold drinks he had received for free today, switched on the chirping fans, and tried to dust off some of the sand away from the floor.
“It’s fine. I can tell you are not used to having guests around,” Des mentioned.
Xell chuckled in response and pointed at a circle wooden table near one of the walls telling him to sit down. Two long stools stood on each side of the table with one looking rather new compared to the other which looked worn out. Despite the mess, his small packed kitchen in a corner was quite neat and clean. The sand around Xell’s cabin looked like a natural feature of the house. A tiny staircase on the other side of the room leads up to somewhere unknown. Besides the staircase, a small shelf hung on the wall. It was full of tiny models made of paper that looked like different structures and buildings. Finally, Xell sat down across from him with his arms on the table. Des was wearing a black outfit and a khaki hat. The only skin visible was his face above the chin, even his neck was covered with a dark pine green turtleneck.
“Your cabin has a unique cozy vibe to it, despite being hotter than most homes here.”
“Thanks. I love this little place a lot. You wouldn’t believe it but I moved to Berth because I wanted to live here for the longest time. I had heard stories about how Berth was one of the most beautiful green towns around the pole.”
“Then you must have been greatly disappointed at its current state.”
“At first, I was shocked but eventually I started liking the town. Something about it feels homely to me now. After seeing people suffer, I just decided to stay so I could help the people somehow.”
“Do you really know a way to help the natives?”
“I have tried a lot but so far I haven’t made much progress.”
“I’m sorry again for misunderstanding you earlier. You are one of the first people I have met here who actually want to try to solve these problems rather than just living with them.”
Both Xell and Des sipped their grape-flavoured drinks in silence for the next few minutes. The fan and the refrigerator were like a pair of entertainers of the cabin as they sang making sure it was never too silent.
“You said you came here after 10 years. What made you return to Berth?”
Des stayed silent for a few seconds before continuing in a low voice, “My parents were Berthians who died here 10 years ago due to the heatwave.”
“I’m sorry…” Xell said but Des suddenly cut him off before he could say anything else.
“That is why I want to help the townsfolk here. All those people did not deserve to die.”
Xell nodded in agreement before speaking. “How about we both work together to figure out the issues lying deep under this town?”
Des immediately agreed and soon they were deep into a heated discussion about the possible causes of the abnormal weather. They started meeting regularly every two days to set new goals and plan potential ways to study more about the town. They shared the progress they had both made separately and tried to explore the town as much as they could. Despite discovering almost all of Berth, they were left with unanswered questions and mysteries. They felt like all their hard work was becoming useless and kept coming close to the edge of giving up. They both lay on the floor of Xell’s cabin surrounded by a bunch of crushed paper rolls and scribbled pieces.
“What are we still missing? Something so huge cannot just happen out of nowhere,” Des argued with annoyance.
“I know! We just have to figure out the missing information. We should expand our search.”
“What do you mean?”
“OH!” Suddenly Xell gasped with excitement sitting up straight followed by Des who mimicked his action. “What if we explore the areas right outside of Berth?”
“But there are no other towns nearby. It’s just barren land.”
“Yes, but what if we find something? We have looked everywhere in Berth for clues but haven’t found a single thing useful to us. I suggest we go tomorrow and explore the west border.”
“But it won’t be easy for me. You are immune to the heat, but it will be awful for me to travel that far.”
“Don’t worry. We will be fully prepared. I have some old gear that can help you! We will make sure to be careful.”
The next day arrived and they both were ready to take on the journey. Xell had searched all morning and finally found his umbrella underneath his bed. His special umbrella was wide and had embedded rubies on the handle. Des was in awe of the beauty of his umbrella and attached it to his belt so he could be hands-free for the trip. They both wore their dark boxes like backpacks to carry chilled drinks and snacks for the journey. The plan was to explore a portion of the area just outside the west border of Berth and leave the area if they couldn’t find anything significant in half an hour. Xell also wore a matching khaki hat, the same as Des’.
After walking through the town, they both were bursting with energy due to the hope that bubbled inside them and that they had been holding onto since they had started planning. The sand had covered most of their clothes and they had passed about fifty cacti on their way. Except for the darkened homes in the center of Berth, the rest of the land lay barren and unused. After walking for a while, it felt like they were in the middle of nowhere due to the sheer emptiness of the place. Except for a few electrical towers, there were no signs of civilization. The lack of shade was something new for Des as he struggled to even sit down in the hot sand. Despite Xell’s worried concerns, he assured him that he was fine and ready to face the tough challenges for the sake of helping Berthians.
Finally, after the long trek, they had arrived near the border at least according to their maps. The sand was still plenty yet it felt like the weather was slightly more sufferable in the new area. A few tiny mountains stretched in the distance and it felt like they both could hear the calls of some birds nearby. The land was still barren which had started to slowly drown their hopes. The species of cacti felt different yet they were still extremely dry like the ones in Berth. Taking slow crunchy steps, they walked around with their eyes open as wide as they possibly could open.
“Xell! Look! Look! Hurryy!” Des screamed at the top of his lungs.
Xell’s legs moved at the fastest possible speed after hearing the pure astonishment in Des’ voice. After reaching to his side, he looked over his shoulder and there it was. A small plant sprout grew out of the sandy soil. It was a bright lime green plant that looked enchanting to their eyes at that moment. It was the sign of possibility they had been searching for so desperately. They both couldn’t control their joy as smiles spread across both of their faces. It felt like a magical blessing for their efforts and dedication. Despite being lost about the plant’s survivability; it was a step towards progress.
“Wait! I think I recognize this plant. Look at the tiny spots on the back of the leaves. I think it’s a Cyragilya!” Xell shouted with excitement.
“What are you talking about?” Des looked at him with confusion.
“It’s a Berthian plant!”