The Unicorn

by Sandy S.

The night was warm as Karla dropped weakly to the ground next to the long wooden box. Pressing her face to the raw wood, she felt the scalding stream of tears pour out of her soul, but she did not dare let herself think about what lay inside the flimsily constructed compartment. All she could think about was the light of life that had shone in her brother's eyes even as his body withered away around him. The spark of love had been a beacon to her heart until he had taken his last breath. No words of farewell had been spoken, for they had been too frail to exercise speech. Soft music filled her mind, and the pain of memories alone remained….

There was the sound of movement downstairs, and Karla's eyes flew open in the dark.

Sitting up and letting the covers fall away, she raked her long hair back with a hand and whispered, "Time."

"Three A.M.," the soft mechanical voice of her headboard clock reported.

Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she stood to her feet on the thick carpet and crept silently out of her room and down the stairs toward the source of the noises.

Hardly daring to breathe in the taunting darkness, she peered into the front hall. Expecting a burglar, she almost jumped at the sight of the familiar forms of her parents.

Her father carried several suitcases, and her mother cradled the bundle Karla knew was her baby sister. Awed and frightened at her parents' flurried movements, Karla remained hidden until her parents left the safe haven of their house. Then, with a pounding heart, Karla fled back to her bedroom….

Karla gazed up at the round golden orb of the sun that blazed its radiance upon the world. She ran the back of her hand across her forehead, only succeeding in drenching her glove in sweat.

Months had passed since she had witnessed her parents' untimely departure, leaving her and her older brother, Dale, to tend the farm. Dale had found the note on the kitchen table the morning after they left. In a hasty scrawl, their mother had written that she and their father were returning to the planet of their birth to visit. They had never returned.

Spring had arrived, and with it came unexpected heat…the dry heat of summer. The fields were too dry, and the ground was hard and cracked. There were no new leaves on the trees near the house, and no green grass illuminated the pitted dirt. Even the computer-run machines that helped plan the planting and care of the land could not find a solution to the problem of the abnormally scorching heat.

Karla and Dale spent weeks trying to work the land to no avail. The sun seemed to be changing and taking life with it. Dale went to town to see how the other landowners were faring and found that what was happening on one farm was occurring everywhere else. The sun was draining away the life of the world….

Karla could feel sweltering rays of the mid-summer sun even through the clothing that covered every inch of her body except for her face, which was shaded by a broad-rimmed hat. She had been working for hours in the small garden she and Dale had planted. Growing food would not be necessary to survive because they had the emergency rations, but Karla was determined to make something grow in the stubborn, unyielding land.

As Karla stepped onto the shaded front porch, the change in temperature was overwhelming, and the coolness of the house was like an oasis in the desert.

Dale had come in from town with their weekly apportionment of food and water, and Karla could hear him in the kitchen. Taking off her hat and gloves, she checked her appearance in the hall mirror. She was shocked by the reflection.

Her face was blood red and burning. She could see blisters starting to form, and she was frightened. She brought her fingers to her face only to flinch away in pain. What was happening to this world?…

Weeks had passed like years since Karla and her brother had moved into the main town to live. The danger of exposing oneself to the sun now meant death, and no one in the hall had any use for going outside even in the safe shield of the night. There were no answers to any of the farmers' attempts to call for help, and there was no means of leaving the planet. Food and water were running out, and now they could only wait for death.
There were forty-seven people in all, and they whiled away the time and pangs of hunger with various activities that did not require much energy. Karla loved the sharing of stories, and her favorites were Dale's tales of the unicorn. The beautiful mystical creature could use the magic in its horn to purify water and land. The unicorn could bring life to any dying or ailing thing even an entire planet. Karla spent many an hour imagining a unicorn spreading its sweet breath across the barren land and healing their lives.

Her stomach growled for the hundredth time that day, demanding nourishment. There was nothing left to believe in except fantasies, and Karla had to search her heart for compassion as the people around her slowly died one by one….

The soft tinkle of music that had been so unobtrusive now increased in volume to force Karla's mind back to the dark present. Her eyes stung, and pain stabbed through her head as she struggled to sit up on the hard ground. She had to strain to even turn her head toward the source of the haunting melody. As her eyes adjusted to the gentle light of the moon, she drew in a breath so sharply her chest hurt.

The beast before her was smaller than a horse but had the semblance of being much larger. Its pearl white body was lean and muscular, and its legs were long and slender. Its head was small and narrow, and the flaring nostrils matched the wide, dark eyes. A spiraling gold shaft sprouted from the middle of its forehead, stretching out for at least a food and a half and avoiding the silvery mane that swirled wildly around it. The tail was as full as the mane and flowed behind the unicorn as it galloped toward Karla.

The unicorn halted ten feet from Karla's position, and the music ceased except for the whisper of notes as the wind blew through its mane. Wise eyes studied Karla as blatantly as she stared at the one-horned creature. It was waiting to show her something. Trembling, Karla, the only survivor of forty-seven, summoned a will she did not know was left in her and stood on clumsy legs. Holding the unicorn's steadfast eyes with her own, she found herself moving forward until she collapsed against the unicorn's side. The unicorn did not stumble, and somehow Karla climbed onto its velvety, solid back. The night went silent except for the faint murmur of bells when she brushed the unicorn's mane.

Without warning, the unicorn whirled and started into a trot, which rapidly accelerated into a gallop. Karla clung to the silky mane and was amazed to discover that riding the unicorn was like flying.

The unproductive wasteland transformed magically before the startled girl's eyes. First, the soil became rich, and the tips of grass peeped up. Flowers bloomed to introduce the tiny bushes, which made way for delicate swaying saplings. The young trees reached up to form a majestic forest.

A flowing brook was born in their path, and the unicorn splashed across. Birds sang, and their tunes blended easily with the unicorn's music. Karla could taste the life in the air, and the keen smell of magic made her lightheaded.

Then, the unicorn stopped.

Life melted away to reveal the empty, dead land under a mask of magic. Karla slid off the unicorn in disappointment. From the ground, she looked up into the knowledgeable eyes. Delving deep into the unicorn's mind, she interpreted the message that lay there. She recognized that the unicorn could not heal the entire world, for the unicorn was life itself.

When the unicorn read Karla's understanding, it inclined its horn. Not quite knowing what she was doing, Karla reached out a hand and grasped the golden horn. In the next instant, she was looking out the unicorn's eyes. The deadly sun was rising as she galloped away, but she was alive….

A day too late, a rescue team arrived from a local solar system, but they only found forty-six bodies.

(Spring 1993)

THE END