I

The oracle lived in the next valley over. Oracles always lived in next valley over. Everybody knew this. Im knew this. She had been on the road for seven days now. Seven long days. Seven uneventful days. Seven damp days. Seven damned days. Seven warm days. Seven normal days. Seven.

The branch Im had grabbed onto to keep her balanced on the steep orange-red dust road with its large holes from last year's rainstorms snapped. Angrily. Im stumbled many steps backwards before she regained her balance. She stood a moment and looked at the small leafless and lifeless tree that had refused to lend her a hand. The severed dried up twig in her hand seemed to blame Im for its sorry condition. It would not be the first to do so. Im sighed heavily, placed the twig carefully on the dust road, apologised to the tree, and resumed her ascend; this time careful not to trust any of the outstretched branches of the shrunken trees along the road.

The sun shone high in the sky like it had done for months now, playing an odd game of tag with the score of heavy grey clouds that drifted across the filament. To a newcomer the yellow behemoth's relentless rays appeared to be about to lose their heavenly hegemony and give way to cool, refreshing rain: appearances were deceiving. The sun had appeared about to lose this game of tag for more than month now but sweet defeat never came. Oppressive humid days followed damned damp days and vice versa, the promise of a cleansing thundershower, however, was never delivered upon.

Im's eyes were burning from her own salty sweat. She knew better than to touch them with her dirty, chapped hands. Instead Im blinked slowly and determined trying to make the pain go away. It did not help. Her tear ducts were as arid as the many riverbeds she had crossed, though, though, dried out much more recently. With her tongue she touched her parched lips. She was not quite sure she could remember how water tasted. The villagers of the valley she was leaving behind had let her pass through their villages more willingly than normal, only striking Im with their hateful eyes. She had passed by the village's precious well close enough to almost touch its cobbled steps. She thought, she had been able to smell the cool, refreshing blue-green water at the bottom of the well. So close to a sip of water and still so endlessly thirsty. The women of the village had formed a half-circle around their life-giving well. Her whole body aching for her to stop, throw herself on her knees, and plead for the tiniest drop of water, Im had walked by the well not looking at it once.

For the briefest of moments one of the heavy grey clouds intercepted the unrelenting sun and cast a soothing shadow on a patch of the mountain Im was scaling. Im stopped, closed her burning eyes, and savoured the tiny dent in the unforgiving rays' supremacy. The moment passed. Im started blinking slowly and determined again and resumed her upwards journey.