Water in the Desert

Polly settled down beside the little water channel and gave it her full attention. It deserved an explanation. Who takes a wall of solid rock and carves a river into it?

The Nabataeans, as it turns out: the desert people who built the hidden city. They chiselled this channel through the entire length of the canyon so that spring water could travel, cool and obedient, all the way to their doorsteps. In a land that sees almost no rain, they made themselves the undisputed masters of water.

And wherever their water once flowed, life keeps its side of the bargain. In a bend of the canyon Polly came upon an oleander bush, defiantly green and crowded with pink flowers.

That night she tucked herself into one of the little carved doorways. Far above, the ribbon of sky silted up with stars, more of them than the narrow gap seemed able to hold. Tomorrow, she knew, she would reach the end of the crack.