The Never Ending Trail

The barren land, as lifeless as my once filled womb, loudly taunts me with the scorching rays of the unforgiving sun. Slowly breathing in through my nose, and out through my mouth, I attempt to slow down my freight train of a heartbeat. My yoga instructor once told me, that to regulate your breathing and to increase endurance, you have to know how to properly breathe. I pray she was right, because I could use that extra burst of energy right about now. I hesitantly take another small sip of water from my bottle, trying to preserve as much of the quickly depleting liquid as possible. The sting of the water surprises me, I was expecting cool relief, not the scathing temperament of freshly brewed tea. If by some small chance I make it out of here alive, I will definitely be requesting a prompt refund from amazon. Twenty-four hours guaranteed cold water my ass, it's been less than twelve hours, and the insulation somehow isn't insulting.

I hope Ray is faring better than I am at this moment, I can almost guarantee he is, he's built for this. If somehow, he made it to safety, I imagine he has gathered a massive search party to aide in my rescue. He's always had a weakness for a damsel in distress. He's the reason I'm in this predicament after all, so he should be the one to save me. The pungent taste of regret flows through my veins as I realize that I also have to shoulder some of the blame. Whereas money motivates most people, love has always been my motivating factor. To keep that love, I go to many extremes to ensure I don't end up alone. That's the only rational explanation I have for me, a non-outdoorsy person, agreeing to take this trek with my fiancé and his church.

When Ray mentioned Dubai to me, I assumed luxury getaway mixed with a bit of charity work. Unbeknown to me at the time, I was agreeing to take a trek to a remote village far away from the glamour of the city. All was well for the first few miles, I even began to enjoy the burn from trekking through the many piles of sand. Out of nowhere, it all went to hell. The wind began to pick up, and with it, loose sand was pushed in all directions. I put my head into my shirt to block sand from getting into my eyes, and I called out for Ray, but all I heard was silence. When the storm did clear up, Ray was nowhere in sight, and I had no clue which direction I was supposed to be walking in. Yeah I had a map, but being inexperienced, I had no idea how to read it or even my exact location. My cellphone signal is shot, and my thousands of failed call and text attempts sit stubbornly in my unsent folder. I begin to rub on the gorgeous diamond ring on my finger, hoping it will motivate me to keep going. I pull my phone out, the time reads 15:35, and I know I have only a few hours of sunlight left.

In the distance, I spot something that sticks out from the desert terrain. It appears to be shelter. I twisted my right leg earlier, but that doesn't stop me from eating up the distance quickly. I walk as fast as possible towards the safe haven, dragging my right leg slightly. I thoroughly check the small interior to make sure some creature isn't about to make me it's mid day snack before I sit down. I grab my water bottle from the side of my backpack and tilt it towards my mouth, but not a single drop of water is left. I unzip my backpack and dig inside, desperately hoping that I can find a couple more M&M's that slipped from the pack. A sharp pain radiates from my left hand, and before I can pull my hand completely out of the bag, I feel a sharp sting on my fingertips. I toss my bag to the side and inspect my hand and fingers. Two puncture marks with a steady flow of blood sits about half an inch from my wrist. I know without a doubt that this must be a snake bite.

I place my mouth at the puncture site and attempt to suck out the venom. The animal channel taught me something after all it seems. I look towards my bag, and on the ground in general to see if I can place my eyes on the snake. Orange eyes with black slits stare back at me, and I toss my useless water bottle towards it's head while sliding my body in the opposite direction. The snake slithers away swiftly, without care for the dire situation it just placed me in. My vision begins to blur, and it feels as if my body weighs a ton. I grab the photo that has slipped from my pants pocket. Ring on my finger, and photo clutched tightly in my hands, I curl up in a fetal position underneath the man-made cave.

After what could possibly be minutes, but feels like hours, I try to reposition my legs. It feels as if my legs are cemented in place , and I think my chest just might cave in. I close my eyes and attempt to clear my vision, but I don't have the strength to open them back again. Engulfed in the desert's parched silence, I was nothing but another grain of sand in the wind.