Rosa and Diego led me to a house in the outskirts of the town.

It was a small shack, with only one bedroom and a kitchen.

The two windows in the kitchen were shattered completely, just like Rosa said they were.

I told Mira to wait in the kitchen while I walked into the room where Rosa's aunt was.

Diego and Rosa accompanied me, and I felt nervous when I caught the sulky man glaring at me.

The woman lying on the bed looked dead.

There was no other word to describe it.

Her skin looked as if it used to be a pretty light brown, like Rosa's, but her face was too pale.

Slowly, I took a step toward her with my hand outstretched.

Diego gave me one last glare before moving to the side so I could reach her. The room was really small, and the only reason the three of us were able to stand side by side was because Tía was lying down on a twin bed.

My heart cried out when I got a good look at the woman's face.

She looked exactly how my mother looked back when she was sick.

Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was slow, painfully slow. Her long, pitch black hair was spread around an old, dirty pillow.

I resisted the urge to cry and looked back up at Rosa.

"How long has she been like this?" I asked.

It was evident she was sick because of the radiation.

Just like my mom, my dad, my grandparents, and my older brother.

"At least a year now. It wasn't this bad at first, but she just got worse," she paused for a second, "will you help us?"

I nodded without hesitation. "Yeah, I will. I have a small home up in the mountains where she can rest. There's running water and some medications I managed to save. The trouble would be getting her there," I said.

Diego walked out of the room without a word and I looked at Rosa with confusion.

She gave me a small smile and said, "He's going to get our friends."

My face fell at the thought of more people in my home.

My cabin was small, if there were more of them, we wouldn't fit.

Then again, if there were more people, then maybe... just maybe, the human race wasn't completely lost.

Out of curiosity, I walked back to the front door of the tiny house and watched with an open mouth as Diego came into sight leading two horses.

Horses.

They had horses!

How?!

They weren't that big, and I could see their ribs easily, but they looked okay otherwise.

One of them was completely black with a white streak on his head from his nose to the space between his eyes.

The second one was a dark, chocolate brown with a tan mane and tail.

Rosa used a finger to lift my chin up and close my mouth.

She chuckled when I finally got out of my trance and walked to the horses.

She beat me to them and proudly patted the neck of the black one. "This is Night, and the other over here is Coffee," she introduced.

I raised and eyebrow. "Coffee? I have a feeling you and me will get along just fine," I humored as I gently rubbed his cheek.

I was a bit uneasy with them, since I hadn't really been around horses since I was eleven.

Back then, my grandpa owned a small ranch where my brother and I loved to play.

There were all kinds of animals on that little ranch. Horses, pigs, dogs, cows, you name it.

He sold it after a while, and I have never been close to a horse since then.

Coffee seemed to notice my restlessness and his tail swished from side to side.

"It's okay, they're both gentle beasts," Ross assured me.

I nodded and looked behind me, surprised, as Mira came toward us at full speed.

She stopped at my feet and it looked like she was glaring at Coffee.

I knelt down and used my hands to scratch both of her ears.

"Don't worry girl, you'll always be my number one," I chuckled.

She licked my face and began wagging her tail.

I hadn't noticed, but Diego had gone back inside the house. He came back outside carrying Rosa's aunt in his arms.

As gently as he could, he sat her on Night before taking a powerful jump and held her in place.

The woman's back was pressed against his chest, and his arms were wrapped around her waist as he held the rope that acted as a reign.

Coffee had one too, and I watched confused as Rosa also took her spot on the stallion's back.

"Aren't you guys going to get your stuff?" I asked.

Diego shook his head, a grim expression was all his face wore.

"There's nothing in there. We ran out of supplies and food two days ago," he told me and gently pressed Night's side with his heel.

The black horse moved forward and Rosa looked down at me.

"You getting on?"

I wearily eyed Coffee and wanted to shake my head, but I said, "Yeah, sure. Just give me a minute to remember how to do this."

Rosa seemed to be thinking about something before she guided Coffee to the trunk of a fallen tree.

I sighed in gratitude and stepped on the makeshift stool. My leg swung over the horse's back, and before I knew it, we were on our way home.

*

Thank you to those few people who have been reading this story! It means a lot to see your supportive comments.

Okie Dokie

The end is part of the journey

-Sofi