The sky was black, without moon, without mercy. A strange silence had fallen upon the desert — not the one of winds, nor of sands, but the one of things we do not want to name.
Where even the stars turn away. There were three of them. A woman in a white cloak, her face hidden beneath a trembling veil. She kept trembling. At her side, a man upright, upright like a blade.
But his hands no longer obeyed. They were trembling too. He was holding the child. Holding him as if he would be taken back at any moment. As if each heartbeat wounded him a little more. The child did not cry. He just watched, with his golden eyes.
And at his feet… A lion cub. The same color as him. Amber fur. Silent. Calm. As if it already knew.
The woman knelt down. Her fingers brushed the sand, then the child's small hands. She said nothing. She never said anything. The man, for his part, looked at the horizon. He didn't want to see. He didn't want to be there.
— This is the place.
There was nothing around. Nothing but dry stones, a gaping crevasse in the earth, and a wind heavy with ashes. A place forgotten by maps, by men, by God.
— We can't do this, the woman whispered, almost voiceless.
But they were going to do it. They had known for days. For months, perhaps. It was no longer a choice. It was a pain one swallows like poison, slowly, until the taste is gone. He had forced himself to accept, but some choices are hard to accept.
The man laid the child down. First gently, delicately, as if he were afraid the child might shatter. Then, abruptly, he stepped back. One step. Two. He turned away. Bit his hand to keep from screaming. From crying. He had no right to.
— You must live, he murmured.
— You must live, forgive us for being such bad parents.
The wind suddenly rose, lifting the woman's cloak, scattering her words into the air. The child still didn't move. His eyes followed their movements. He didn't understand, but he felt. The lion cub rubbed against him.
And then, right then, for the first time, the child raised his arms. Toward them.
Toward them. And it was a scream. No words, just a sound, raw, raw like a blade pulled from the gut. A scream of a child being abandoned. A scream one never forgets.
The woman fell to her knees.
— Forgive me, my son… forgive me…
But it was already too late.
The man pulled her away, lifted her, pushed her toward the path back. There was nothing left to say. The sand was already erasing their steps behind them. The child watched them disappear.
The lion cub lay down beside him. The desert embraced them both. And then, silence. The real kind. The one that can no longer be filled.
⸻
They never explained why. They left no name. No object. Nothing, except a look, a final tremble in the throat of those who love but cannot choose love.
That day, a sun set in the sand. And no one saw it. Except the lion cub.
——-
Three years later…
A man walked through the desert, his armor — once golden — now a bronze tarnished by battles. Sweat poured from his forehead, tracing paths down his sunburnt skin.
— By all the gods… Why does such heat exist? he groaned, wiping his face with a sleeve.
— Damn war… Can't those fools live in peace?
He muttered, exhausted, when in the distance, he saw a blurry shape, shimmering like an illusion. An oasis? He blinked.
— A mirage… surely…
But curiosity — or perhaps hope — pushed him forward. The closer he got, the faster his steps.
— By the flames of the sky… It's not a mirage! Has God taken pity on me?
Amazed, he started running, throwing off his boots onto the hot sand as he reached the water. He was about to dip his feet into the oasis when a roar tore through the air.
Frozen, he slowly turned his head to the left. There, standing on the sand, a lion.
Not just any lion.
Its golden fur blazed under the sun, so bright it hurt the eyes. The man raised his hands to shield himself, dazzled by this almost unreal vision.
— By all the gods… A golden lion? With golden eyes too? It's… it's incredible!
Fascinated, he approached slowly, hand extended. The sand burned his feet, but he moved forward. Yet the closer he got, the more the lion growled. Its eyes blazed with raw rage. An ancient fury, almost human. A wrath ready to consume.
— So young… and already so full of hatred, the man thought, heart heavy.
But then, he saw. Just behind the beast, two small hands clutched its mane. He frowned. The lion… was protecting. Not just that. It was defending — with its life.
He took one more step.
A child.
A little boy was hiding behind the beast. Golden eyes, identical to the lion's. Curly hair of the same shade. Mixed skin, sun-kissed, almost shimmering in the light. He was thin. Horribly thin. As if he had never known fullness.
But it was his gaze that struck James the most. That same gaze. The same as the lion's. A burning black rage, incomprehensible.
The man's heart clenched. The child didn't seem older than three. He had likely grown up here… alone… in this desert.
— What kind of monster would leave a child here? he murmured.
He came closer still. The lion growled, still threatening. James felt his fists clench until they bled. But he forced himself to breathe.
Then, softly, with a voice as dry as his throat, he spoke:
— Hey, kid. How did you end up here?
The child tilted his head, eyes narrowed. No response. Nothing but a blank, curious look.
James understood. This kid… had never received any kind of education. He had lived here since birth.
Anger rose in him like a fire. The lion sensed it and roared, snapping its jaws inches from his face. James took a deep breath.
— Sorry, big guy…
The boy, amused by the scene, gave a clumsy little laugh.
The man saw it, and his heart warmed a little. He smiled in return. He extended his hand, slowly, palm open.
— My name's James. James Gold. And from now on… you'll never be alone again.
The lion, wary, stepped forward, sniffed the man. Then it lay down, still alert, but no longer hostile.
The little boy burst into awkward laughter. He babbled some sounds — incomprehensible gibberish. He was trying to speak.
James felt his eyes sting. He knelt and gently gathered the boy into his arms. He could feel his bones under the skin. He weighed almost nothing.
And in his heart, he made a silent vow.
This boy will grow up. With me. With all the love I can give him.