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“Your friends didn’t come,” he informed me.
I pursed my lips.
“Yes,” I agreed. “I gathered that.”
There was a long pause and then with a sigh, Alil came closer and sat down at the tree next to mine, facing the open desert with me.
“Where do you think they are?” he asked.
I shrugged, at a loss.
“They were determined to do this. Kazm and Fari were anyway. Ossad and I took convincing... I can't imagine they just gave up. Something must have happened to delay them.”
“Do you really think they’re coming?”
The uneasy note in Alil’s voice finally made me turn to look at him.
He was afraid. Guilt swept me again.
“They’ll be here,” I promised.
He didn't look convinced, but nodded and turned his gaze back to the open stretch of land.
For a while we sat there, watching the sun set, feeling the temperature drop before I realized that we were going to be sleeping out here, in the open and the cold unless I did something about it.
Alil wasn't made to be roughing it in the wilds, he was a true jewel in my eyes, meant to be cherished and protected, even when he was rightfully annoyed with me.
I pushed to my feet, looking back at the generous oasis we found ourselves in.
Alil glanced at me but made no move to follow as I walked back through the plants and trees, scouting the area.
Near the pond, I found a spot where soft moss had grown, half sheltered by flowering bushes. It wasn't much, but at least it might be somewhat comfortable for him.
“What are you doing?” Alil asked, coming up behind me.
“Finding somewhere for you to sleep,” I said.
He eyed the spot dubiously and then shrugged.
“It will do,” he said and pulled the shawl from around his shoulders.
I watched him spread it out over the bush so that it hung over the side like a curtain.
He hugged his arms and stood back to look at it for a moment before glancing over at me.
“Where will you sleep?” he asked.
“Don’t worry about me,” I said, shrugging.
“I won't.”
He bent and pulled his curtain open before crawling into the small space without another word.
Once he was seated within, it seemed bigger. It looked like there was plenty of room for him in there.
In fact, there was probably enough room for both of us if we wanted to keep one another warm.
Heat spread through my body at the thought and I turned and walked away.
