7. By the Wall

No one knew what was on the other side of the wall. No one knew when it had been built, or even who had done the job. And no one knew where it began and where it ended, it was just there. Liliana didn’t believe any of it. There had to be records somewhere, somebody had to know. She didn’t expect she would ever find out. Someone like her wasn’t privy to secrets like that.

She was expected to pick up the trash that inevitably made its way to the base of the wall, and rake smooth the sand the blew around the city constantly. It was said the elites didn’t like to see footprints in the dirt as they road by in their elegant carriages. Liliana didn’t understand why it mattered, but picking up trash and raking the sand was constantly needed, and that meant she was never out of work.

Her day started before dawn and ended just as the sun was setting. The wall extended for miles in either direction, to the city limits and beyond. On the south end it cut through a high dune and then continued onwards, seemingly into infinity. In the north it made its way into the forest, vanishing into the trees.

Liliana had considered following it, past the city limits, past any point she had ever known, but she was afraid to. She had never been anywhere else. She knew nothing of the world. Some said that roving bandits patrolled the wild lands. She didn’t want to find out if that was true. Instead, she would have to use her imagination.

In her mind the world beyond the wall was magical, full of happy and free people who celebrated life. In that place she wouldn’t have to rake sand to make a rich lady happy. She could do whatever she pleased. She wanted to believe it was like that. She had to, thinking of the alternative made her feel hopeless.

But that was just in her imagination. In real life she walked beside the wall, rake in one hand, canvas sack for trash tied to the belt around her waist. As she made her way south on one particularly hot day the wind started picking up. Dust storms were a daily occurrence, Liliana could tell that this was going to be a strong one.

For a second she considered turning back, she was far out of the city and there was no where to seek shelter if she needed to. When the winds howled the sand felt like sandpaper on the skin. She knew she couldn’t go home, if she did she would lose her job, and word would get out about how she had left her post. She would never find work again.

She pulled her scarf up to cover her mouth and nose and pressed on. Although there were hardly any footprints to rake, other than her own, the wind sent much of the city’s trash out here. Inevitably it got lodged at the bottom of the wall.

Liliana carefully picked up discarded leaflets and newspapers, and the thick waxed paper used by the vendors who sold hot food on the street. As she was stuffing the refuse in her bag the wind kicked up, blasting her with sand. She shut her eyes and turned away until it settled down. She moved along, picking up the rest of the trash, as the sand swirled around her.

The wind made a howling sound as millions of particles of sand lifted into the air. Liliana braced herself against the wall, glad to feel its rough surface on her back. The sandstorm raged around her, making it hard to see. She sunk to her feet, turning into the wall, letting it anchor her.

Eventually, the storm subsided, as it always did. As Liliana felt the warmth of the sun on her back she sat up. All was still. It was hot. She pulled her scarf from her face and stood up. A quarter of a mile ahead was what people called the big hill. It was the southern limit of the city. Liliana had often climbed the hill, to look out over the landscape, and to try in vain to see over the wall, which had always been impossible. It was nearly midday, it would be the perfect place to have her lunch, which was in a sack tied to her belt.

She walked the few minutes to the hill and then trudged up its sides, her feet sliding in the sand as she did. When she reached the top she looked over the landscape. The desert seemed to go on forever from here. Far in the distance the white buildings of the city lay in their jumble. Closer by, the wall stretched up in the sky, blocking any possible chance of her seeing what lay on the other side.

Liliana was about to sit down and take a long sip of water from her canteen when she spotted something she had never seen before. At the bottom of the hill, beyond the city limits, the sand looked to have shifted. There was something at the base of the wall. Could it be a hole?

Liliana slowly made her way down to it. Her eyes blinked. It was a hole, and it went under the wall. She dropped to her knees and scooped some sand away. She crawled into the hole and pushed her hand under the wall. The air felt cool down there. She reached as far as she could. Suddenly something grabbed her hand. It was another hand, belonging to someone on the other side.

Liliana jerked her hand away. Her heart was racing. She stood up and backed away from the hole. She should go home. She didn’t belong here. She took another step back and stepped on the handle of her rake. No, she didn’t belong here. She untied the trash sack from her belt and threw it aside. She got back into the hole and began digging until it was large enough to slip through to the other side, and then she did.