the desert.

Bonne and I decided that we had been perfectly matched with our camels; hers wheezed every time it went up even a slight hill, and mine kept trying to deviate from the path. We named them Sean Preston and Jayden James.

Caught up in the moment, I took off my glasses and threw my head back, breathing and exhaling the cool desert air. I wanted no barrier between myself and the universe in that moment; I wanted to merge with the stars and the vast, unending sky, to feel the history of the dunes and sand, to hear nothing but that heavy silence blanketing the constant, steady trudge of camel feet. 

Soon I had spun away into elaborate fantasies of dark-featured men on horseback, swords and jewels and stealthy midnight caravans, of galloping away into darkness never to be heard from again....

Sighing, I looked back down, only to realize that my camel had come loose from the pack and was leading us all towards Algeria.

“H...Help!” I squeaked once I had fumbled my glasses back on and realized that there was indeed, only desert in front of me.

“Help!” I called again.

“What’s wrong?” Bonne said. Clearly, we are not the pair to rely upon when navigating the Sahara.

“Sean Preston came off his tether! HELP!” I yelled as SP strode jauntily over the edge of an embankment.