Zeinab walked through the streets of Jinan, the white walls of the town glowing softly as dusk fell. Water ran clear throughout the streets, and flowers grew in abundance. Deep pinks. Soft purple. And the brilliant white of jasmine stars which perfumed the night.
Sounds of human laughter and music were all around. Candles and open fires replaced the light of the sun, and shadows danced across the walls all around. Zeinab stopped to watch some of the humans that were performing, their joy filling her heart with warmth. She saw a little girl among them and let out a soft howl.
The girl came over straight away and handed Zainab some of the smoked fish she had been eating. Zainab took the fish carefully with her teeth as they looked into each other’s eyes. Her silver ankh caught the last rays of sunlight and shone gold for just a moment.
“Find Erum-Mahi Nuzat.” The girl whispered, her tiny fingers combing through Zeinab’s golden fur.
From behind, a woman called out. The girl leant forwards and kissed Zeinab’s forehead before running back to the other humans and tending to a small bush of blue roses. She looked up at Zeinab suddenly, smiling.
*
As Zeinab woke up, she played the last images of her dream again. Her home that had once been so full of life and colour, and the little girl with magic in her fingers.
“Mama? I’m hungry.” Nura, her youngest cub was nestling into her side.
“Me too! And I’m so thirsty.” Amal cried, sad golden eyes looking up at her.
Zeinab sighed and looked out at the wasteland her oasis had turned into. Soon they would have no choice but to leave the safety of the town walls if they were to live. The vultures circling above were also aware of it. They had been waiting around the ruins for some time now, there voice the only other sound left in Jinan.
“Soon, cubs. We’ll eat again soon. I promise.” Zeinab said softly. It had been almost a week since any of them had eaten. “Where are Khaliq and Masoud?” Fear pounded in her heart as she noticed the two boys were nowhere to be seen.
“They went to the lake.” Amal said.
“They said not to worry about them.” Nura added.
“Still, let’s go check on them.” Zeinab said, her gaze still watching the vultures above. She struggled to her paws, trying hard not to let Amal and Nura notice. Then, she led them towards the old lake which was almost dried out entirely.
To her relief, she found both Khaliq and Masoud playing tug-of-war with a branch close to the lake and unharmed.
“Mama, look what Khaliq found!” Masoud said when he noticed Zeinab had arrived. Khaliq let go of the branch and trotted over to a small clump of dried out roses. He came back with a silver chain thread through his fangs, from which hung a small anhk.
“What is it? Is it magic?” Khaliq asked.
“Yes, it is.” Zeinab smiled as she remembered her dream and the little girl again. “It’ll guide us to a place called Erum-Mahi Nuzat.”
“Where’s that?” Masoud asked, the branch long forgotten as he joined his brother and sisters.
“Is there food there?” Nura asked.
“Will there be water?” Amal added, looking sadly at the tiny amount of green water that was left.
“There certainly will be.” Zeinab said, feeling in her heart that that was what the girl had meant. She looped the chain over Khaliq’s neck as she’d seen the girl wear it. “Make sure you get plenty of rest today, we will leave at night.
*
As the sun set, Zeinab woke her cubs up and made sure they drank from the lake even though they moaned about the taste. In the distance, she could tall clouds of rain and longed to feel the droplets on her fur, but even the rains never seemed to fall anymore.
The land was sand and stone as far as the eye could see in all directions, not a single hint of colour of life in any of it. The distance terrified Zeinab. She had only ever left Jinan twice, and it had taken her several days to find another oasis. Her cubs huddled beneath her, all of them looking at the scorched wasteland.
“Was it always like this?” Nura whispered.
“No. Once it was full of life and woodland. There were rivers to swim in and long grasses to play in.” Zeinab replied.
“What happened?” Masoud asked.
“The humans needed the trees, so they cut them down. Eventually there were none left, and the ocean of sand took over.” Zeinab said.
“Mama? Will we be okay?” Amal whispered.
“We will, if we believe.” Zeinab replied softly. You must make it… Zeinab thought to herself as she nudged all four cubs forward. Then, she stepped out of the ruins of Jinan without looking back.
The wolves walked constantly through the dark.
Away from the stones, the night became bitterly cold. The cubs whined and cried in protest, but Zeinab knew they had to keep going no matter what. When the sun rose, the world turned from ice to fire. The road Zeinab led the cubs down burnt their paws, and their throats were painfully dry.
*
By the fifth day, the cubs could barely lift one paw in front of the other. Zeinab looked up at the sky. The vultures were still circling above, but below them, songbirds fluttered around. They were close to fresh water again.
She heard the sound of a car coming along the road, then a metallic snap from behind. Khaliq had wandered from the road to inspect a blackberry bush and gotten caught in a trap. He cried in pain and tried to pull free as Zeinab rushed over, pawing and biting frantically at the metal.
Zeinab called Masoud, Nura, and Amal to her, and crouched over all four cubs as the car stopped on the road beside them. She heard a door open. Then footsteps moving closer. The human paused to pick something up.
Zeinab looked up and her eyes met those of a young woman that held Khaliq’s ankh in her palm. She let out a soft howl and the woman smiled back. She pulled some smoked fish out of her bag and gave it to Zeinab as she crouched down in front of the wolf.
“You’re safe now.” The woman whispered, leaning forwards and pressed her forehead against Zeinab’s. “Let’s all go back to Erum-Mahi Nuzat.”
