It was Morrigan’s turn to scout for supplies and so I stayed behind with the Priestess. The desert was particularly hot today and I had objected to anyone going alone, especially in this heat. But Morrigan insisted that she had seen lights to the east, not the flicker of campfire nor the straightforward movement of headlights. She thought maybe it could have been some utility shed owned by the state, still running off of solar after the lights had gone out everywhere else. So she had decided to go investigate, taking a gun, hand held radio, a solar charger and a one-person tent along with her. She’d probably not be back for a few days but no matter the distance the portable HAM radios would still be able to reach each other.

I watched her go. In a previous life we had been good friends, now we were family, all of us. We were in it together whether we liked it or not. In a previous life she had gone by another name, we all had. Now we had new names, not just one new name but many. The names of our previous life were only used in private, like when we talked to each other. In this valiant new existence we were allowed to choose our own names for the first time, the three of us had actually spent a good day in a library trying to figure out what suited us best, even though I knew what mine would be all along. Sometimes though people give you names, and in this valiant new existence it is as rude to deny these given names as it is to deny water to a dying person. 

I was the teacher. Morrigan was the creator and my best friend. And Luce was the High Priestess. These were given names, the names we gave to each other.  Morrigan and Luce weren’t their real names either but they were the aliases we most often used. Mine was Levi. Anyway, I didn’t much care for my title. I had never fancied myself a teacher but Luce insisted that without me she wouldn’t have the knowledge to be considered High Priestess. Her title fit her much better. She captivated me with her every word and the rituals she performed put both me and Morrigan into a trance on par with a small dose of hallucinogens. To say I was a bit infatuated with The Priestess would probably be an understatement. She was my equal in every way and in our previous lives she had been one of the few people I could spend all day talking to. Our relationship never went beyond friendship but it did not dismay me, I was just as happy to stay platonic.

I reflected on my feelings as I watched the silhouette of my friend fade into the desert haze. Once she was completely out of sight I keyed the talk button to do a radio check and after getting a clear and quick reply I turned around to head back to camp.