2/25/2026, 6:52 PM
Every morning, they made a climb. Didn't matter that there weren't any sun left to see- just the damned clouds. Darker now. What Cecil was realizing- something they hadn't much voiced to the rest of their traveling party- were that this wasn't getting better. It was getting worse. Perpetual twilight now, and the sky looked near the same at, the break of dawn as it did at noon.
Or they thought. Hard to tell what time of day it was anymore and hard to keep a rhythm, even for someone who'd risen same time every morning their entire life. So whatever it was, it was morning enough for them, and Cecil looked out at slate grey clouds and said the prayers. Closed their eyes and pretended, just for a moment, there was sun.
Opened them again, and saw nothing but grey and white. Wind bit through their coat like a rattlesnake's fangs, and the cold spurred a shiver from nose to tail. Somewhere south there was warmth. Had to believe it, 'cause the alternative was thinking too hard on the dream that weren't a dream about the end of the world, and Cecil didn't much like those odds.
They stretched. Looked down from the crest of the hill, and saw something- someone- pushing through the snow-laden grass.
Cecil yipped a greeting before the stranger could get much closer, head tipped and ears angled forward. Knew it weren't a companion of theirs, unless Nate had been out recruiting again, which weren't impossible. "Mornin'," they said. "I think. Startin' to lose track of where the sun's meant to be."
Or they thought. Hard to tell what time of day it was anymore and hard to keep a rhythm, even for someone who'd risen same time every morning their entire life. So whatever it was, it was morning enough for them, and Cecil looked out at slate grey clouds and said the prayers. Closed their eyes and pretended, just for a moment, there was sun.
Opened them again, and saw nothing but grey and white. Wind bit through their coat like a rattlesnake's fangs, and the cold spurred a shiver from nose to tail. Somewhere south there was warmth. Had to believe it, 'cause the alternative was thinking too hard on the dream that weren't a dream about the end of the world, and Cecil didn't much like those odds.
They stretched. Looked down from the crest of the hill, and saw something- someone- pushing through the snow-laden grass.
Cecil yipped a greeting before the stranger could get much closer, head tipped and ears angled forward. Knew it weren't a companion of theirs, unless Nate had been out recruiting again, which weren't impossible. "Mornin'," they said. "I think. Startin' to lose track of where the sun's meant to be."
english | navajo
