The Desert

It had been more than two days since a drop of water had touched his lips. He was beginning to think that he was forgetting what water tasted like, if it tasted of anything. Wandering through the desert his body was giving up begging for some form of relief. His tongue felt like sandpaper against the roof of his mouth, scraping away any morsels of moisture he had left. His legs wobbled beneath him, knees buckling with every step, but he forced himself forward. Just one more step. Then another. The sun, more merciless and unrelenting than he had ever felt it, burned overhead, its rays bouncing off the endless waves of golden dunes, making it impossible to tell where the sky ended and the earth began. Suddenly his vision began to blur, the edges of his sight darkening like ink spilling onto a blank page. He began to close his eyes, accepting his grim fate. This was it, he was dying. Finally, as he fell to the blistering sand, he thought, was this it? Swallowed alone in the vast, empty, desert. No. He willed himself onto his already faltering feet and pushed forward. Although he was deprived of water nothing could deprive him of his spirit. 

Then, in the distance, something flickered. A shimmer of blue against the golden wasteland. His heart pounded in his chest. Water. It had to be. It just had to. Summoning strength from the last reserves of his will, he stumbled forward, each step heavier than the last. The glimmer of salvation wavered, teasing him. Closer now. So close. His fingers stretched forward, reaching for the cool, rippling surface, only to hesitate. He had been fooled before. His breath caught in his throat as he sank to his knees, his heart hammering. But the water did not vanish. His shaking hands pressed into the sand, feeling not just the unbearable heat but something new: coolness. The crystal water trickled through his fingertips. Suddenly a sharp breath hitched in his throat, and then, a sound he hadn't expected burst from his lips. A laugh. Ragged, broken, and delirious. It was real.