Free Redemption: Supernatural Time-Traveling Romance with Sci-fi and Metaphysics by Jacklyn A. Lo

almost unbearable and she tries once more
to drink from the lake, only to find that the water has also gone. Instead she
is buried in the hot sand of the desert, trapped, alone and dying. She opens
her mouth to cry out, but her throat is so dry she only manages a hoarse
rasping sound.
    “Is okay.”
    At the sound of the strange
voice, Mi opens her sand-crusted eyes and peers up into the face of a man. She
pulls away and looks around in concern, spying a couple of other men standing
nearby.
    “Is okay,” says the man again and
smiles kindly at her.
    Mi blinks, a frown forming on her
brows. Strange words. But though she
does not understand what he is saying, the man’s friendly expression is
comforting. He gives her what looks like a bag, though it moves in a curious
fashion. He hands it to her.
    “Drink,” he says.
    Mi frowns again, unsure what is
expected of her. “Bag?” she says. The man places it in her hands, but the feel
of it is strange and slightly disturbing so she quickly gives it back. The man
laughs, and holds up the bag to his mouth. There is what appears to be a piece
of bone attached to the bag and, as the man raises the bottom of the bag, a
stream of water flows from the bone into his mouth. “Drink.”
    Mi’s eyes widen in amazement. “Water!”
she says, reaching out as the man passes her the bag and she copies his action.
A jet of water shoots into her eye. Blinking and moving her head up, she
catches the water in her mouth. It is cool and refreshing.
    “Bad land make thirsty,” she
says, between gulps. “Good water!” Mi drinks it greedily, quenching her
terrible thirst. When she has finally had enough, she hands the bag back to the
man.
    “Come,” he says. “We go now.”
    Mi frowns at the unfamiliar
sounds of his speech, so he points away across the sand before reaching out a
hand to help her up.
    “Go?” she asks, but the man frowns
back, clearly unable to understand the word. After a brief hesitation, Mi takes
the man’s hand and, standing up, feels the aching in her legs and the pain of
her burned back and shoulders. She stumbles and the man quickly puts his arms
around her waist in support.
    “Is okay,” says the man. “We
help.”
    Slowly, with the assistance of
the three men, Mi walks in the direction the man pointed. Looking up, she sees
again the lake in the distance.
    “Water?” she asks, wondering if
it really could be a lake. “Bad lands make trick?” But as they get closer, she
can see it clearly is a vast body of water. “Big lake!” she says, impressed by
its size. It is much bigger than the lake near her cave. Cave, she thinks, saddened by the thought of her old home. My tribe gone. My Wu gone. Need Wu! All she
wants to do is go back and find him again, but she cannot yet, not until she
finds a new home and a new tribe.
    As she trudges wearily across the
sand, Mi eyes the men who have rescued her and is surprised at how different
they are to the men of the tribe back home.
    Strange men, she thinks, looking at their
arms. Small hair. These men are
indeed much less hairy then the men back home. In fact, apart from their chests
and legs, the rest of their skin has none of the thick curls she is used to.
Instead their arms and legs appear to be covered with small, light brown hairs,
while their heads have flowing locks of similar color. Like lion, she thinks, resisting the urge to touch. Their faces are
free from hair, which allows their features, much softer than those of Mi’s
tribe, to be clearly seen, and their skin is a lighter brown than her own. Mi find tribe? She thinks back to the
people her father spoke of. Mi find new
home? Mi safe?
    The man who gave her water
notices that she is staring at him and smiles.
    “See,” he says, pointing to the
area ahead. “My village.”
    Mi follows the line of his finger
with her eyes and, as they make their way over a small hill, she stops, gazing
open-mouthed at the sight of the tribe laid out before her. She is on