The air rose in shimmery waves of heat that made everything seem to undulate. I saw the wonder of it. How had Slothin transformed into this dead space? It was sheep and green hills and moisture and gentle breezes. A most agreeable environment. Why had it changed to this? I asked Nionc Tigo, but there was no answer.
Hey, I said to the air. Where are you? Don’t leave me alone. Answer me.
Even as I said the words, I knew there would be no answer. Nionc Tigo was gone.
Here the sensation of loneliness enveloped me so completely that I think I lost my vision for a moment. The desert around me shimmered even more than the heat waves suggested they should, and my eyes grew moist and bleary, as though something or someone had dropped great gobs of water into them.
Or as though I was underwater.
