The fall

Written by Kensey Medina

Illustrated by Jessica Liu

Among the endless sand dunes of the Dasht-e Kavir stood a small patch of dense palms. Protected by their shady leaves lay the mud brick houses of the village Sahamr, a humble town nearing the edge of the desert. Today was a festival day and Kiana was outside the walls with her little brother, Shahin. Towards one side of the village lay a hill with a lonely date tree upon it, and it was here that Kiana liked to come. Higher than the surrounding sand dunes, she could see the village and the first glimpse of the ocean of sand that lay beyond it.

During the Fall she’d sometimes sneak up to the tree and steal some of the dates before they were harvested by the villagers. Kiana rested below the tree, staring up at the boughs of leaves, thinking about the frozen dates in the yakhchal from last year and debated getting them. A strong breeze cooled her off from the afternoon sun and she decided against it.

Shahin meanwhile darted to and fro at the base of the hill, playing with his imaginary friends around the walls of the town. She heard him say something in the distance but couldn’t quite make it out.

“Brother’s fighting with one of his ghost friends again I bet.” She sighed to herself and waved at him, pretending to have heard. Wanting just a few more minutes of rest before she had to take care of him again she ignored the sounds and closed her eyes.

Something shook her, and with a jolt Kiana woke up. Shahin was kneeling next to her with fear in his eyes. “We must go home, look sister!” he cried out and pointed behind her.

Turning around, Kiana saw the biggest dust cloud of her life, rapidly approaching her and the village. The entire horizon was a wall of hot sand blowing towards them, the sun already dimming from the storm. Suddenly understanding the gravity of the situation, she grabbed Shahin’s hand and began to rush him down the hill.

Going as fast as she could without falling, she shouted behind her “Don’t let go of my hand and don’t look back!” Shahin didn’t respond with words as much as sobs and they continued down the path towards town.

She was able to hear the storm now and realized they wouldn’t be able to get all the way home in time. Scanning the immediate base of the hill for shelter, she found the old mudbrick house her grandparents used to live in.

Just as they finished their descent the storm hit. Wind battered her with sand and it stung her eyes and face. It crept up her nose and into her mouth as she tried to keep it from entering her throat. She heard Shahin crying behind her as she ran towards the abandoned house.

“Come Shahin, inside, quickly!” She threw him inside just before the worst of it came and slammed the door shut behind her. The sand crashed against the door angrily before blowing past down the town’s road.

Inside the hut there were colorful old rugs and woven tapestries, all kept in the same condition that her grandparents had left them in. Shahin was curled up next to one, coughing up sand from his throat.

Kiana sat beside him, hugging him. “I’m sorry I didn’t come down sooner. I heard you but never noticed this. Now I’m wondering how I missed it.”

Shahin looked up at her and she could see the skin on his face was an angry red, burned by the sand. “I tried to get you as fast as I could, sister. Is this really just a dust storm?” he asked.

“I’ve never seen one as big or fast as this. And on a holiday? How unlucky.” responded Kiana. Nursing him, she cleaned their faces off before sitting next to him.

The hut provided ample protection from the storm but there was no sign of it stopping. Howling gusts of wind attacked the outside walls and blew past through the rest of the village. The adrenaline from the run wearing off, both Shahin and Kiana started to feel tired as they waited out the winds.

Kiana stood up to stay awake and looked over their grandparents’ things. It had only been a couple months since they had passed and Kiana felt the absence of them every day. Her grandmother had been a hardy old woman who taught her about life’s challenges and how to face them. Her grandfather was the sweetest man she’d ever met and spoiled her with gifts and treats every time they saw her. She turned over a golden bracelet her grandmother always wore, almost dropping it when Shahin asked “ Do you miss maman bozorg?”

Her reverie broken, she put down the bracelet and answered “Yes. Every day I miss her and what she’d teach me. She was the one who showed me how to climb that date tree up on the hill.”

“Maman bozorg said she once got caught taking the dates and her father chased her around the town in an attempt to punish her.” Kiana laughed at the memory.

Shahin smiled lightly but didn’t laugh with her. He was too young to have gotten attached to their grandparents like she did. He leaned his head against the wall, blinking slowly until he drifted off into sleep.

Meanwhile, Kiana went through the items in the house and reminisced about the memories they carried. A tapestry stained in one corner because of her spilling her tea on it. When grandmother discovered it she got so mad her face was red! A beautiful rug that she used to gaze at when she was younger and her parents brought them to visit. She traced the designs with her finger and remembered getting lost in them while they talked about village news.

And back to the bracelet. It’s gold inlaid with delicately placed light blue stones. Kiana picked it up and clasped it around her wrist. The cool metal soothed her burnt skin and she thought she looked better with it on. It felt secure. It felt safe. She decided she’d wear it, at least until the storm was over. It would help to have her grandmother here to guide her.

Kiana circled back to her brother and sat next to him against the wall. She wondered about the storm and why it had come so quickly and with such ferocity. The wind outside pushed in vain against the old house and it’s foundations. She could hear it’s low howl as it ran through the streets and thought about her parents, if they were safe too. As her mind turned through these worries about the storm and her family, the sand scratching against the wall created a rhythmic sound that was strangely calming. Eventually, it lulled her to sleep.

Kiana was startled awake by a toy falling off grandmother's table. It wasn’t a loud noise but the silence of the room amplified it. The toy, a little terracotta dog lying on a cart, rolled into the wall. She recognized it as a kid’s toy she played with when she was younger but thought lost.

Wait, silence?

Kiana realized the storm outside had stopped. It was jarring--there was quiet in and outside of the hut as far as Kiana could hear. She walked over and picked the toy up. One eye was hollow where the other had a blue stone in it. She’d seen that gemstone before…

Kiana lifted her wrist to the level of the dog’s eye and saw the same brilliant blue stones staring back at her. She didn’t remember her toy having this.

Remembering Shahin, she turned and found him slumped against the floor where she had been. He was leaning against her until she got up just now, but apparently the tumble to the floor hadn’t interrupted his sleep. Putting the toy down, she gently shook him so that they could investigate.

The door creaked as they opened it to look at the streets outside. “Why is it so quiet Kiki?” Shahin asked. Before they went up to the date tree the village had been bustling with activity: people making food, carrying branches for the festival pyre, and handing out treats to kids playing in the street. Now it was dark, and the air was cold. Braziers on the streets were tipped over, their lit coals burning out against the sand that covered the mud brick road.

“I don’t know… something’s gone wrong.” Kiana shuddered as she led them through the alley’s darkness. Shahin clung to his sister as they carefully stepped past the overturned fires and market stalls, slowly making their way home. As they turned the corner of their grandparents’ street, they saw a bright haze of light in the sky.

“What is that?” Kiana wondered aloud as Shahin anxiously stared at it . “Is that the fire from the town center? Maybe we’re late for the ceremony!” Shahin exclaimed as he took off, racing down the road.

“Shahin, wait!” Kiana struggled to keep up as she tried to stop her brother. “The light isn’t red, it’s not from a fire!” But he didn’t hear her. Rushing through the town streets and jumping over ruined decorations, Shahin was faster than her and she knew it. Kiana could only hope to get to him before he could do something dangerous at the town temple.

Upon finally reaching the town center, Kiana was greeted with an otherworldly sight. Shahin stood in the town square looking up in awe at a shimmering tower of multicolored light. Shades of color Kiana had never even seen before glimmered in scintillating shapes before them. The light extended as far into the horizon as she could see and illuminated the entire town center. They were the only ones there and the ceremonial pyre stood unlit, insignificant in size compared to the tower.

“Shahin, come here! Get away from that!” Kiana looked up fearfully at the light. Shahin glanced back at her but didn’t move. “Kiana, it’s warm here. Come closer, look.” As he said these words he reached out and touched the light. Like it was just a mud brick wall. Kiana couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Approaching slowly, she reached out and laid her hand on top of Shahin’s. The light was warm and... comforting? Her worries started to seem less important, more distant. Shahin laughed and she started to giggle with him. It was like warm milk and honey, melting her concerns. The light started to coalesce into a consistent form right before their eyes. Stairs took shape in front of them and they looked at each other.

Suddenly they heard a gentle voice from above, at the peak of the light. “Children, it is not safe for you here any longer. The Daevas have chosen you as their victims. Come take your place here, where you can be safe.” Looking up, they saw an olive skinned woman bathed in light, clothed in white robes. She was flanked by two dogs, the color of alabaster, each with four eyes on their heads.

The shock they felt from the four eyed dogs was lessened by the woman’s appearance. They immediately felt a great comfort and trust in her words as if they had known her since birth. Shahin was speechless and the words the woman spoke reminded Kiana of when her grandmother gave advice.

“Who are you?” Kiana shakily asked. “You may call me Daena, Kiana. I wish I could explain more to you right now but time is short. The storm was no accident. You must join me.”

Suddenly the dogs began to whine at something in the distance and the children turned to look at what they saw. A black shape, swirling in the center of the pyre stirred to life. Daena looked scornfully at it and threw something from her palm into the middle of the kindling. It ignited instantly and a roaring fire consumed the black dust devil as it let out a terrible shriek.

Needing no further convincing, the children began to hastily ascend the stairs. There was ample room for both of them to climb, but Shahin started to struggle to make it up. The light was solid, but he had always been afraid of heights. Seeing himself so far up made him freeze and Kiana didn’t notice until she was several steps ahead of him.

Looking back she called out “Brother, don’t stop! It’ll be okay, come take my hand and we’ll go together.” Kiana reached out to Shahin who looked at her, afraid. This high up he couldn’t see anything beyond the light anymore. It was like the darkness was closing in on them, slowly encroaching, trying to snuff out the path.

Before he realized what was happening, a dog rushed past him. He whipped around just in time to see it attack another of the black clouds that shriek. The dog barked and struggled against it, fighting off something unknown. Staring at the black thing made his head pound, his eyes started to burn as the image of it drew him in.

“Shahin! Look at me! Don’t look back!” Kiana cried out towards her brother. The other dog charged down the stairs and Daena drew a blade, leveling it towards the creatures the dogs fought. “Hurry children, this bridge will not stay whole much longer.” Daena descended, floating through the air, to face the formless black creatures.

Shahin shook his head, willing himself to keep climbing as he took Kiana’s hand. Together they scrambled up the steps, desperate to put distance between them and the fighting. Behind them they heard a dog whimper and Daena’s sword slicing through the air, followed by the wretched howls of whatever horrible things she fought. The light of the bridge started to fade, and despite Kiana’s warning, Shahin looked back.

He saw the path behind them disintegrating, dissolving into the black murk that now swarmed around them. The multicolored shafts of light faltered after each step and he froze again in fear. Kiana tried to pull him further along but he wouldn’t budge.

“Shahin please, please come further!” Kiana pleaded with him as Daena cut through another demon. Both dogs had disappeared and Daena was surrounded by the inky black demons. One broke off from the rest and quickly flew up the stairs, each level it passed faded and became one with the darkness.

“Kiki I-I can’t move, help…” Shahin croaked as he stared down at the demon rushing towards them. Kiana redoubled her efforts to pull Shahin up but by the time she got him on both feet again the Daeva was upon them. She felt a sudden pulse of energy from her wrist and saw her grandmother’s bracelet shining blue. Then it exploded.

A flash of cerulean blue light engulfed them as a shockwave pushed Shahin and the black thing off the bridge of light and Kiana further up the stairs.

“SHAHIN! NO!” Kiana screamed as she watched her brother, wailing as he fell into the darkness below them. Daena turned to witness Shahin’s fate and her divine features contorted into a horrified expression. Gliding towards Kiana she picked her up and headed towards the peak of the bridge.

“Let me go! I need to save him! I need to get him!”

“Child, you cannot do anything to help him.” Daena struggled to hold onto the squirming Kiana and outpace the black demons chasing them. Kiana shook herself side to side and fought against her guardian until Daena set her down at the peak. An entrance with light of every color, changing every second she looked at it, was before her. It outshone the sun.

“Go, now!” Daena commanded as she stood to defend Kiana until she could enter. Every fiber of Kiana’s being screamed at her to go through the door, to be where it was safe from the horrible dark. But, looking at the black pit below them, she could only think of Shahin. Kiana grimaced, and taking one last look at the doorway, jumped.

The last thing she saw was Daena’s face crying before the infinite black swallowed her up.