At dusk we set out.  Pink, purple, and orange hues embraced us promising some relief.  The heat of the day was exhausting.  Dust clouds from the passing cars caked our lungs forming a loamy spittle that splashed into our hands every time we covered our mouths to cough.  It was only polite; mom had at least taught us that much.   We kept marching on, kicking gravel to pass the time, ignoring the heat long enough to take another step wondering how we got this far on a day like this.