The Desert 🏜

Desert nights can be cold…

The kind of cold that creeps into your flesh and freezes your bones. You can only lay still in your tents and stare at stars, stitched on the blanket of the night sky. Hanging in the void, the moon boasts its beauty of craters against the dangling stars. The splendid view is just the peak into the exploding universe above, that would let out its heat in the following day. The peaceful silence hanging in the arid air becomes scarier, not revealing what danger it has in store. I sense the nocturnal species venturing out for their midnight feast! Here the time passes with the speed of the wind; if a mild zephyr passes by, the time flows slowly but if it’s a gale, time passes in a jiffy. I wish for the sun to rise sooner and free me from this situation.

However, I would definitely regret this…

As I gather my equipment and backpack for the hike this morning, I feel very enthusiastic! All set to discover the dry, desolate and bland sandy plain. Sands do not always relate to beaches, the brine in the moist air that lay salty kisses on cheeks while tousling my hair; on the contrary, the sand was hoarse, blowing on my tanned skin and irritating it! Sandstorms lead to massive abrasion of rocks and result in their changing shapes. Truly, I am the rock and allowing the sand to change my features.

I envy the camel, cacti, and centipedes…

Their appropriate adaptations to this desert climate are exceptional. I want the camel’s hump, or the fleshy, succulent stems of the cacti to store gallons of water and the million legs of the centipede to help me walk faster! As time travels, the sun rises just above my head; the cruel sun beats down, its one malevolent eye blinking, and the sky its alibi holding not even a wisp of cloud to soften the harsh rays. Not only I am being roasted like iron in the blast furnace but I am hallucinating! Perhaps what they call mirage.

The inevitable thirst rises...

My throat longs for the crystal, cold water, because I have run out of all my water supplies. The cravings of my favorite lemon mojito, diving in the fresh sea waters or lying under the shady tree flash in my mind, shattering my enthusiasm, determination and motivation. I drag my feet, that would have formed bruises from the killing boots. Everything around me is almost set on a flame, like about to burn itself to ashes under the sun. I suddenly pity the sand, the heat it has been bearing since centuries.

Finally, the reward...

I reach my next campsite after a toilsome journey. I see the locals set up shisha pipes and a stage for a belly dance. Aroma of the falafel and humus tickle my nostrils; the large well of water created is the greatest reward of today’s quest. I will quench my thirst and reach out for a shisha pipe to relish the rest of the evening…