The scorching sun hits my back as I continue to wander through the desert. I believe it is about midday at the time I am writing this, amidst the heat that proves to be relentless in its assault on both my body and my mind. As of late, things haven’t been going well for me, if I have to be frank with you.

You see, it all began with a simple divergence from the beaten path I had been instructed to take by an elderly man familiar with the land. It was on this path that I — who had been traveling with a group of ragtag vagabonds with no ties to land, and even with no sense of camaraderie among them — had fallen asleep whilst remaining in the tent, silent as I could be, and allowing whatever breeze came through it to hit my skin. I remember talking with one of the gentlemen, who had been there to begin with, about the road ahead, when I suddenly felt everything turn to black.

Little did I know, when I woke up several hours later, that I would find myself engulfed by the hot desert sand, next to some cacti that had been blossoming there. From what I could tell, I had been stripped of my belongings, and left to rot out in this arid wasteland, far removed from any civilization or help that would come my way. All that had been left was a note that read:

“Looks like you were dealt the wrong cards, kid.”

I guess that same feeling of unluckiness came when I found myself staring into the eyes of what appeared to be a drooling mutated lizard that looked upon me with ferocious red eyes.

Photo by Craig Tidball on Unsplash