Marana, Arizona

It was while approaching Tucson, three days of walking later, that the rain finally stopped for a moment. Aden wondered if it was because he was too thirsty and hungry to keep up with his emotions, but he tried not to dwell on the negativity too long.

He sat on a big flat rock and soaked up the clear air for a while. Just long enough for his wrinkly fingers to dry up and the ache in his feet to subside. Just long enough to feel the searing of the sun on his flesh for once, instead of the deep chill of the rain. It felt like it had been an eternity since he’d see sky instead of clouds. She would have liked Arizona, he thought; she always preferred the sun over the sea.

Rolling thunder sounded on the horizon, and Aden forced himself to keep moving.

Tucson, Arizona

Despite the threatening storm, the sky stayed clear once Aden reached the city, so he stayed a few days, hoping to work for an afternoon or find someone willing to offer him a couch to sleep on or a meal to eat.

While wandering the city central, Aden walked past a gift shop. One of many filled to the brim with clayware and turquoise. Something through the window of this one caught his eye though, and he detoured into the shop.

There were braided bracelets hanging from a rack, souvenirs with different names beaded into the center, punctuated with two turquoise stones. He looked through the rack as casually as he could, but his eyes trained on her name when he found it. Cassie.

The bracelets were overpriced, marked up to prey on tourists with money to spend. Aden was on his last few dollars. He left empty-handed.

San Xavier Indian Reservation, Arizona

Later that week, Aden got lucky. A native man with an old pickup truck asked if he was the kid looking for work. He introduced himself in a language that Aden didn’t understand, then laughed boisterously and added that he goes by Ned.

Know how to fix a water pump?

Aden lied and said he did.

They allowed him to tinker for a while, and eventually he got the water flowing again. He managed a sheepish smile when Ned’s wife declared him to have magic fingers.

The storm hit while Aden was sat at their kitchen table with the man and his family, getting ready to dig into the food that was his compensation. It all smelled hardy and delicious; he hadn’t had a home cooked meal since…

The forecast was calling for a drought.

They casually commented on the sudden heavy rain. From the end of the table, Ned’s elderly father said something in their mother tongue and everyone at the table chuckled.

He said you’re a lucky charm, kid.

Aden tried to laugh also but it fell flat in his throat.

They offered him a bed for a few days, but the rain had caught up with him and when the third night came with no slowing of the downpour, Aden knew it was time to get moving again.

Ned drove him back into the city and gave him the money to catch a bus to El Paso. Aden went back into town and bought the bracelet with her name instead. Cassie.

He secured it around his wrist with the old, worn one that read his name, then started for New Mexico on foot.

Benson, Arizona

He spent too long in Tucson. The rain was relentless again and he was desperate to get out of it for a moment. Aden tried his hand at hitchhiking, even though his mother’s voice was screaming at him in the back of his head. Honestly, it couldn’t be any worse than walking along the highway through a storm in the middle of the night.

A truck driver stopped for him after an hour. He didn’t speak English and Aden’s Spanish was rusty at best. He tried to ask if he was going to El Paso.

Sí, sí.

Texas?

Sí, si.

It was one of those big sleeper trucks, and the driver let Aden rest in the back of it. He didn’t think he would be able to, but once Aden set his head down he passed out.

When he woke up the sun was coming up. He tried to ask where they were, how long he had been asleep, but when he couldn’t string the language together to his liking, he settled for a broken request for the time.

The driver answered and Aden mentally counted to try and remember each number. Seven… something? His head was still groggy, but if his math was right he had slept all night. No wonder he felt heavy headed. He sat up to watch out the front of the truck. The sky was clear and he could see the horizon in front of them. He didn’t remember there being mountains in Texas.

Durango, Colorado

Colorado was never part of the plan, but a nine hour de-tour wasn’t easily recovered from. He’d have to stay for a while, until he could scrounge up the cash for another bus ticket.

At least for now the rain had stopped, and what was the worst that could happen in a state that was landlocked on all four sides? He certainly wasn’t going to complain about the view...