I am here in search of an oasis. I remember there being one. Could it be a mirage that a desperate heart placed in the mind's memory? But, I do remember life - that too in full bloom. Yes, in full bloom - even in the desert. Tired eyes continue searching. Futile. Maybe it is buried in the sand now or maybe it dried up. I do not know. Maybe...
I continue searching.
I look up to the desert sun; i plead with him, but his anger will not simmer today. He owns the lonely blue sky. I turn my back on him, but the scathing heat reminds me he is still there. I close my eyes, but the light pierces even the darkness behind closed lids. The desert sun - all-encompassing. Inescapable. Like all other things, i'm beginning to think hope too dies. Does it? Can it? I do not know. Maybe...
The thirst is getting unbearable. The pain in my stomach is excruciating. My thought is singular. Constant. Paralyzed. I need to quench my thirst. I think of the Oasis. I can hear children playing. I see camels. Their lazy yet majestic walk, soft smile, big eyes and long beautiful lashes. And just then I see Laila - the daughter of the night - smile and in that instant, even the mighty sun is powerless. I am enveloped in her beauty as land is in the darkness of night. The heat gives way to a coolness on my eye lids. I am certain now. There used to be an oasis here. Or is a desperate heart playing yet another trick to nurse the fears of a helpless mind? i do not know. Maybe...
A glimpse of her and i feel as if a huge rock has been removed from my heart. A rock which had been supressing a spring. Water gushes forth. Life surges through my body. I raise my arms victoriously. I laugh at the sun and begin to run. I run. I run hard. But, The harder i run, the farther the beautiful vision appears to be. I keep trying, but for every step i take towards her, she runs a mile away from me. The distance cannot be retraced. I look at the sun. I cry. What a cruel joke.
A cruel joke.
Like the desert sun, the beautiful image is inescapable. I cannot turn my back on it. It has made a home in tired eyes. I can't escape it so i resign to simply stare at it; to admire her beauty until my eyes finally give way to a deeper darkness. Even the blazing desert sun cannot keep out the darkness of death - the final dusk. A dejected heart stops comforting a bewildered mind. Hope resigns. She breathes her last. Dying legs want to chase still, but are forced to halt. A defeated mind submits. Is this a dream? When will i wake? Will i wake? Does light pierce the dark night of death? Will my soul see another dawn? I do not know.
Maybe...
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