Tall as she was, the mare’s presence at his side was almost stifling. Orhan snuck a few curious sideways glances at her as they moved across the moonlit sands, and at one point found her looking back at him. “Or?” she said, and he stared back at her with wide, dark eyes, not comprehending until she repeated the word and reaffirmed her message with a nudge on his shoulder. Her smile said it all, yet his heart sank. Poor girl. He did not bother to correct her, and almost did not catch what she said next.

“Carisa?” he repeated, and looked at her for affirmation, but her head was no longer pointed in his direction and he could not be sure if she heard him or not. For some moments he travelled like that, legs moving automatically over the ground at a brisk trot while he continued to curiously watch the tall mare beside him, astounded that she could say her own name so well (assuming it was her name). He had never found himself in such a bizarre situation before, and it seemed to him that he was not even trotting at all, but floating. Am I dreaming?

And then the oasis loomed up before them out of the dark, and Orhan slowed, casting a quick glance this way and that for his small herd, but if they were around, they must have been sleeping. He approached the edge of the dark water, shouldering past grass that tickled his belly, and drank. Droplets trailed along his chin when he raised his head to look at Carisa, beckoning for her to do the same. The oasis was quiet and still but for the reedy whirr of insects. Finally, when he thought Carisa would be able to catch his words, he asked, “Are you lost?”