It was hard for Miriam to keep an eye on the sleek little cat as it walked over the sand. It should have been easy to watch as its black fur shone dark contrast against the sand, made silver-blue by the night. But the wind was picking up and blowing into Miriam's eyes. It hurt to keep her eyes open against it, but Miriam could not close her eyes for fear of loosing sight of her little companion.

The cat didn't seem bothered in the slightest by the sand. Occasionally it would peer back at Miriam to see if she was still there, but it never slowed or stopped. Miriam realised that the cat could sprint at any moment and the pang of fear that dropped into her stomach at that moment almost hurt.

The muscles in her legs were aching and stiffening as she willed them out of the sand that she sank into with every step. The only sand she had ever stepped in had been at the beach. She had only been there once with Aaren. Miriam shook her head, shaking the memory away. She couldn't think of him, not when her emotions were already so raw. She couldn't allow thoughts of his bright eyes, sudden laugh, teasing smile or the sound of his voice. To do so now would rip her heart apart.

The cat bumped it's head against her leg. She hadn't even noticed it come back to her. She let her mind and efforts focus on keeping her eyes open and following the cat as quick as she could. They walked on, annoyingly slow despite it the effort it was taking. Ahead of them was the largest dune Miriam had seen so far. The cat was walking towards it purposefully. Miriam pinned her eyes to it as she walked. Before long they were at the base of the dune.

The cat persisted and began to climb up the dune. Miriam followed.

She slipped once on the climb as the sand moved from under her feet. The sand rubbed against her bare arms as she slid and made them turn a painful, stinging red. A quick check of them assured her that, although some skin had broken and pealed back, she was not bleeding. She looked back the way she had come. She could see only one of the traffic cones they had passed, despite being able to see over all the other small dunes. She was pondering that and looking around for the others they had passed when a noise floated down to her from the top of the mound.

Was that a laugh? A cry?

Miriam almost lost her balance and went sliding back to the end of the dune in her hurry to stand. She abandoned the idea of walking up it. Instead, she got low and crawled the rest of the way, finding that the sand didn't slip as deep or as far when her weight was separated between her hands and feet.

It was a slow process, during which sand covered her arms and legs. It forced her head sideways and went into her clothes as she sank into it. She forced her body to go slowly, and found that it took patience she had run out of hours ago. By the time she almost reached the top she was exhausted and her arms hurt as much as her legs.

She looked down the slope and almost laughed at how gentle an incline it looked. The peak of the dune was flatter than she expected and dotted with large jutting rocks. None of them seemed even slightly buried and stood on clear, clean bases.

Miriam stood up and walked to one of the rocks. It was a strange colour, too dark to be sandstone and as smooth as marble. It had markings on it, crudely carved of circles, rose buds and broken pillars. She looked to the rock that was closest to the one she stood next to. It had markings as well and letters etched into them.

Suddenly, Miriam felt like an intruder and her surroundings, although alien, seemed to remind her of something. She had not touched the rock but flinched back from it as if it had burned her.

The sweat she had on her face and back from getting there felt colder than it did before. The cold spread out until she felt her lips numb. It spread until she could feel her bones as if there were no skin or muscles covering them. She stared at the markings and felt like a ghost. She had seen things like them before but could not recall where. She wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to remember. The cat moved in front of her, between her and the pillar, and the feeling of wrongness eased but did not disappear.

Movement to the side of her tore her eyes away from the pillar. Someone moved amongst the rocks. She bent low and circled the rock so that she would not be seen. The cat watched her placidly.

It was a woman. She was about Miriam's height with a similar build. In fact, her hair was similar as well. She turned and walked to the other edge of the rocks. As she did, Miriam got a clear view of her profile. She was reunited with her reflection.

Disappointment and bitterness welled in Miriam but she subdued any reaction. The only comfort was that the girl had not seen her. She looked over the dunes from where she stood. Miriam followed her stare to the ruins. They were bigger than she had thought and must have belonged once to a large, thriving town.

Looking back at the girl, Miriam was shocked to see silent tears on her cheeks. There was no visible moon to light them but Miriam could see them clearly as they gathered at her chin and dripped down onto her chest. Miriam watched the sobbing girl with growing unease. The cat walked by her and towards the girl.

Miriam tried to catch it but it slipped easily between her hands. Miriam moved back slightly, making it so she was better hidden by the rock. She still didn't dare to get too close or touch the rock. The cat rubbed the length of it's small body against the girl's leg. She startled at the touch but then broke out into a big smile and gathered it into her arms. A second later she let it down and crouched down to it, staring at it with her mouth slightly open. The cat rolled onto its back and twirled for attention and affection. The girl just looked at it. Then she got up and ran back behind another rock. The cat sat up and turned to meet Miriam's eye.

"Little traitor." Miriam whispered, letting it see her lips move.

The cat tilted it's head at her once and turned towards the girl as she came back. She was carrying a heavy-looking bag. She took something out from it and gave it to the cat, who ate it before Miriam could get a good look. Then she sat and began playing with the sand, piling it into a mound and encircling it with a shallow trench.

It reminded Miriam of making sandcastles with Aaren as they made the best of their last day and she had to remember to breathe. The first breath she drew was long and painful.