Already here
The barren expanse under the scorching sun stretched as far as I could see. I trudged on the scarred ground sniffing the air for the scent of prey and straining my eyes for patches of water. My tongue, stiff and wilted, hung out from my mouth from days of not tasting water. My four limbs had shriveled to the bone and my ribs protruded through my withering coat. My tail dragged against the heat of the earth as I bordered on collapse. In the haze of the heat, I saw the distorted image of the bare branches of a dying tree. The branches morphed into antlers and I witnessed a terrifyingly beautiful scene – a deer quenching its thirst from a narrow crack in the land. My tail hovered over the ground for moment before I crouched down and began inching towards it. For an eternity, I creeped up on it battling urge to charge. I just needed a few more of those eternal moments when my sagging underbelly struck something sharp and I squealed in pain. When the deer’s head turned towards me, I felt ...