“ George … How full is you water canister? ”
“ ‘bout a half, what about your’s”
“ I got none left George.”
“ Here, have some of mine”
George passed his water canister to Slim. Slim reached out to take it. Sloosh! Slims palm was hot and stiff and he had not taken a proper grip on the canister. It fell to the ground its content cascading out onto the sandy floor. The dry ground sucked up the moisture. George and Slim scrambled to the floor, wracked at the sand in a hope to find some water but it was all gone.
“ I.. I’m sorry George I .. I just didn’t grip it tight enough.”
“ s’ok Slim, I wasn’t your fault.”
So the two thirsty, dehydrated men set off searching for a source of water. The sun was getting hotter and hotter, and Slim and George were getting weaker and weaker. Suddenly George felt a burst, he had seen something in the distance.
“ SLIM SLIM!”
“What, What is it George?”
“Over there in the distance, can you see it. It’s a pool.”
“I see it, I see it. We’re saved.”
Slim and George scrambled across the sand like small excited kittens. George hurriedly got there first and jumped in. He landed flat on the same ground he had seen for the past seventeen days. There was no pool. No water. It was all a figment of the imagination. Slim, confused, walked over to George’s side.
“Are you alright George?… What happened?”
“I dunno, one second there was a pool, then I was on the sand.”
“But I could see it, so where’d it go?”
“ It wasn’t real. The heat is playing with our minds.”
“We Haven’t eaten in days.”
“ I know. We need to find some water.”
“ Wait George. What’s that up ahead?”
“It’s nothing’ . Remember we’re seeing things that aren’t actually there. It’s all in our minds.”
Further along the road was an inn. But George and Slim thinking it wasn’t real continued there journey in the other direction. After a while the food supply was also coming to an end. George and Slim were eating more and more every day in a hope that they would have enough energy to reach a ranch or an inn. They sat down in a silence, Neither having enough energy to speak. Eventually they fell asleep on the warm blanket-like floor of the desert. The sand was soft and comforted them as they slept. It was not until the heat became unbearable the next day they awoke.
“ Slim… Slim. Come on it’s time to go. We have to find water… Slim?”
“ I can’t George. I… I’ve got no fight left in me.”
“ Sure you do. Were bound to find somewhere today.”
“ You go George.”
“ I’m not going alone Slim. Not after what happened with Lennie. I’ll go and get help.”
George got to his feet and started a paced walk. Hat he hadn’t realised was that he was walking the way they had already come the day before. Three hours later George had made little progress. He had not found anywhere that could help or anyone who could assist them. Slowly he squinted into the distance. What is that he thought. It was the inn he had imagined the day before. It’s not real he said to himself in a firm way as to not get his own hopes high. He walked on toward it none the less. As he got closer he could smell soup and ale. He approached the building and reached out to touch it. He could feel the rough grain of the wood beneath his hand. His dry sin touching the inn. He ran inside.
“ Please, my friend is further out, we ran out of food and water. Can you help him?”
“Sure, I have a sand cart do remember which direction you came?”
“I think so.”
“Alright let’s go.”
George instructed the innkeeper to where Slim was laying half-covered by sand. His body was tired and weak.
George got Slim onto the spare seat and the innkeeper took them back to the inn and accommodated them with rooms, and told them when Slim was rested there were a few jobs that needed doing around the inn. George ad Slim set about doing them as soon as they could. Instead of being paid in money they were paid in supply’s such a food, water and transportation. Slim and George left the inn after three weeks and went on there way. The innkeeper told them he would always welcome them if they were ever passing. George said
“ I don’t think we’ll be passing here for a while.”
“ Well ok, but remember if your ever around.”
“ Thanks. For all of your help.”
George and Slim were on their journey once more. They hoped to find some work on a ranch about eighty miles away the innkeeper told them about. As they were walking Slim said
“ Thanks George.”
“ For what?”
“ Helping’ me”
“ That’s what travelling partners do. We look out for each other.”
“ Well, Thanks again.”
