You walk alone, tired and dull; the hot sand blistering against your feet like each and every grain is made of lava. The sun flairs itself against your skin, almost burning the skin layer by layer. You can see the heat illuminating off the ground, like the peak of a campfire. Mile by mile, you wonder alone in agonizing pain, just waiting for the silent chill of civilization. The simple thought is enough to make you tremble in frustration. Your feet feel, as if they are torn to shreds. You take a step as pain rushes through your body; you take another step as the pain strikes again, almost as if you were shot by your best friend’s gun. You start to tremble as all the pain, and now emotions, begin flaring in your insides. you collapse laying on the blistering hot ground, with no food no water no energy to even move a muscle, your whole front side of the body is screaming for help, with every grain of sand burning like thousands of needles being slowly pushed into each pore. Knowing that there’s nothing you can do, your eyes start to close; your mind starts to fall, remembering the past hours.

You go all the way back to getting on the plane. Its summer break, the whole family was in agreement to go on a weeklong African safari. The plane was nice, first class, top notch. It was probably the longest plane ride you’ve ever had. You luckily were able to get a window seat, and at least every five minuets there is something new to see. You look out the window to see sand, the same sand you’ve seen for the past half hour. Wow, you are amazed, amazed that the only good thing to see is the sky, each and every star connected in some small way. You come back to your card game and decide to enjoy the time you have.

Minuets later, a large roar of an engine, a nasty roar, seems to become increasingly loud. You decide to look out the window, and that’s when the other plane hit. About five rows up, this plane basically split your plane into two. The middle of the plane was on fire, you were falling, flipping, being thrown across the plane, struggling to find something to hold onto. At last, you see the ground, the moment where you wish everything would just be fast, that by chance, everyone will just be fine, or for once, you finally believe in a God. You start to think about all the bad things that will happen to you, will anyone even notice that you are gone; the ground is closing, nearing. The last seconds of life, ticking like a bomb, life itself flashing before your eyes. You are able to look out the window, right as the other side of the plane hit the sand. You see pieces of plane debris flying everywhere, sand making a splash like a fat kid diving into a pool, flames illusively dancing on the ground like waves of light. Crash; The other side of the plane crashed, the light diming, everything turning black, changing colors, the stars, the one and only thing you can see, are shifting. The once good vacation is of no such thing. … night passes, night becomes day, moon becomes sun; dark becomes bright, really bright. It’s morning and you are alive. You look around, the sight of debris everywhere, charred ground, and plane pieces scattered around a quarter mile radius. You look off into the distance, yet there is nothing but sand. You look at the plane and the dents in the sand; you were able to determine a direction the plane was going. The only thing to do now is walk.

Everything just went blank, empty, and alone. You start to wonder if it could all just been a part of some really crazy nightmare. You open your eyes; your energy has slightly replenished. You get to your feet, still being in absolute anguish. You decide to look around, the view is gorgeous, the lighting is just right, the sun is rising just enough to let the stars and moon be seen. It is that Florida day, cool, yet you are still in the middle of nowhere; no civilization to be seen in any direction. Nevertheless, you know you must walk, walk for the hope of survival, walk to tell the tale. Or do you just lay down and die, knowing everything you ever had is gone, knowing that even if you do get to civilization what are the chances you will ever make it back home. Whom would you even know? The sand, grain by grain, is being heated by the sun, as if the farther you walk the hotter it gets. You can feel the sweat as it pulls itself through each pore, you can feel the sun’s layers of heat beating against your skin, your mouth seems as if all existence of moisture has been drained from you. You look up for a glimpse of hope, the sun seeming as if it is coming from every direction, glares off your eyes. You start squinting, trying to get a clear picture; you try harder and harder just to verify that what you see is true

A city, a small city. Your morale boosts ten fold, the thought of survival is enough to overcome all pain and suffering. You somehow grasp the energy to drive each foot in front of the other. Moving faster and faster as each step comes by, the city becomes clearer, larger as you move closer; more details come into sight, windows, cars, people, water. As if with each step, another detail comes into place, like slowly putting together a puzzle. As you come closer, you start to hear the sounds of the city, the cars honking their horns, the cattle making noises as if in a barnyard, the slight chatters of fellow peoples communing between themselves. Then it hits you, the smells, the smell of a fresh dough bakery, the smell of gasoline, the smell of civilization, the simple smells alone are enough to make you want to collapse. Every step, one after another seems to slow time, making it harder and harder to reach the city. You stop to catch your breath, still realizing you are in the middle of nowhere, with only thirty feet to go, you make a boost towards the city. Only twenty feet left, only ten more feet, each building looking larger than ever, the sounds and smells almost to die for. Five more feet, you can see the entrance, large and round as like on of the arches in roam. Three… two… one…you are there, standing at the entrance. Every detail is as clear as the next,

Your whole body is trembling in weakness; every bone feels as if they are made of rubber. Yet you take a gasp of relief, knowing that you are safe, that you made it, that you can rest. You take a step forward, every part of your foot in blistering pain, and another step as the pain rushes through your body. And another, but this time your foot misses the ground, in fact it passes right through it. You start to wobble, swinging after things for a grasp of leverage. The more you swing, the more the items disappear. Your feet are now at the edge of something, you look up at the city as every part of it is blown away, like dust in the wind, to see that all that’s left is the edge of a cliff.

You don’t know what to do yet. A strong gust of wind blows against you, pushing you toward the cliff. You look down to the bottom of the cliff, noticing every jagged rock. Your feet seem to skid against the ground, forward towards the edge of the cliff. You take in a breath of air, a long deep breath and bend forward, letting go of all worries. You feel the wind as it blows against your chest. As you fall, you eyes are closed, but you can feel every flip as if you were falling in that plane again. The air is rushing between every part of your body. You start wishing that none of this ever happened; you start thinking of what you could have been doing right now if this didn’t happen. You wait for it, anticipating the impact. You open your eyes, just as the rocks are about to hit, then you close them back. You feel each and every nearby rock protruding into your body, as if you just landed on a bed of knives. The pain is fast but still excruciating.

You close you eyes, you hear a voice, they are talking to you, no yelling at you. You gain the strength to open your eyes, your expressions change, the situation changed. It is early morning. You are in your bedroom lying in your bed. You notice that your linens are thrown across the room. Your parents are sitting on your bed, with a sincere look of worry filling their faces. As you slowly come out of you trance, you are able to tell them everything that happened.

…And for a moment there, you thought you were lost.