Lost

• Lucy Diffey, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2022

My heart is pounding out of my chest, sweat stinging my eyes. Sand fills my worn boots, thick and fast. As far as my eye can see, there are just mounds upon mounds of the same golden sand.

I trudge through the knee-high, gleaming sand. A flaming sun sends down blistering rays of heat, my eyes provide a steady stream of hot tears. The desert is relentless, persistent with searing heat. My head is throbbing, and my throat is drier than the desert I'm stranded in.

Finally, my weary body collapses, forcing me onto the scorching sand. My drowsy eyes take one final glance across the vast desert. Then I see it. The glistening blue lake. I use every last ounce of energy left in my exhausted body to drag myself to the lake. I scoop a handful of the cool water into my grimy hands. Instead of a cool, refreshing feeling, my mouth is filled with crunchy granules of sand. They scratch my throat, as I hurriedly scrape the excess from my tongue.

I walk on exhausted, nonetheless. Every step feels like my legs are lifting a block of concrete. But it’s futile. In these final moments, I think about home. About the splendid pools, and nourishing food. I cry. Hot tears hit the sand, and instantly disappear. Before I know it, the tears fall even faster. Every tear hits the hot sand, creating a hole. A hole which will eventually drag me in and bury me deep beneath the unrelenting sands of the cruel desert.