Something a bit different from the Super Spuds today. I wrote this little story yesterday based on a hitch-hiker I saw one day in the desert.
The Unknown Man
Hour after hour, he waited in the
sun - a lone figure by the edge of the endless blacktop. His black veil sheltered his face from the
unforgiving desert sun, but there was no escape from the rising temperature: A
relentless 40 degrees by 9 a.m., which quickly drained his vital bodily fluids
and moral. Kneeling, the man stared
intently at the road, watching – praying – for a car to come to his aid. After one hour, a car approached, its outline
punching through the shimmering heat radiating off the tarmac, and the man
stood up and stuck out his hand. The car
did not stop. The man kept his faith and
resumed kneeling, turning his body to keep the sun on his back and the wind on
his face. He had no water with him, and
there was no water within a hundred miles.
At noon, the wind ceased to blow and the punishing heat began to take
effect. His lips started to crack, his
mouth stopped producing saliva and his head was like a drum pounding to the
beat of a slow rhythm.
He strained his eyes to scope the
surrounding area for shade, but only the unwelcoming sight of flat gravel
plains rewarded his effort. There was no
vegetation in this particular location: the environment only existed to take
away life, not sustain it. It was at
this moment the man began to realize that he may not survive for much
longer. The heat would take his body and
the desert would take his soul. When the
next car came – if one came at all – he would walk into the road and force the
car to stop, rather than rely on the generosity of a travelling stranger. The man reflected on what the mind of the
driver who failed to stop was thinking.
If I were the driver, would I have stopped? The man smiled to himself, he would have done
the same and kept on driving, it was easier – and safer – to assume the next
car along would stop and help. Leave it
for someone else.
As the sun began to set, its
brightness dimmed enough to allow the man to stare at it. It would be beautiful, the man thought, if it
was not for the fact it was going to rise tomorrow and condemn him to his
death. The sun seemed to laugh at him as
it disappeared below the horizon, resolute in its confidence as the ultimate
giver – and taker – of life on Earth.
The wind continued to blow, pushing the sand grains against their will
onwards and away. The man stretched his
legs out and drifted in and out of sleep – the severe dehydration taking its
toll on the strength of his body. It was
now midnight, the unbearable heat of the day now long gone. The ground gave up its warmth and the empty
space consumed it greedily. The contrast
between day and night in the desert was stark and cruel in its conflicting
nature. The man almost wished for the
sun to come back soon and warm his body again.
He knew once it did though – and it would – he would be wishing for the
cold again. The dark of the night only
confirmed his loneliness: there were no car lights approaching and only the
stars kept him company tonight.
International giveaway ends tomorrow so be sure to check out Goodreads to enter!
