John woke up feeling like his back was on fire before he quickly opened his eyes. He was lying face flat on dry and hot sand, slowly and carefully he stood up. Looking around his surroundings, he could only see golden sand everywhere. The dunes reflected the rays of the sun, making them appear as they were on fire. It was a desolate desert that lay around him. The first thing he noticed as he got up was his clothes. He was wearing a pair of sweatshirts and jeans this afternoon, but presently he was in a dirty and ragged attire that was too heavy to breathe in. On his head was a turban, it also seemed to be made of the same material as that of the clothes he was wearing.

John tried to remember what happened before he got here. The only thing that came to his mind was climbing the hill to meet with Ellie. He tried to think further, but his head ached all of a sudden. Fortunately for John, the pain faded after he stopped remembering his memories.

It’s as though his mind didn't want him to remember what happened. John became lost in thought about what to do next. He was alone in an unknown land. But that was not all, this place was a harsh desert, and the last time he checked, he never had any water with him.

A thundering voice slapped him out of his thoughts.

“GO NORTH OF WHERE THE LION SLEEPS.”

‘What the hell?’ John thought bewildered by the voice that seemed to come from above.

“Excuse me, please help me out!” John shouted back at the voice, hoping for someone to reply.

He cupped both hands around his ears and tried to listen carefully. Nothing! Not a sound! He sighed deeply and thought whether or not his mind was playing tricks on him?

He looked all around him; to his disappointment, there was no one around. Before he got gloomy of his predicament, he gazed at the sun which was slowly moving to the west. It was almost past noon, which meant that North was to his left.

‘Never trust strangers or things you can’t perceive’ John remembered the advice Ellie gave him before. This advice was never to his liking though, he always naively believed everything people told him. Hesitantly, he decided to go south just because he couldn't trust the unknown voice.

John took a step forward.

"KLAANG." A small lightning bolt struck beside his foot.

He withdrew his foot in shock and fear.

‘Why?’ the naive John thought as he looked at the sky.

There wasn’t any cloud, nor any wind, so then, how come there is lightning. John couldn’t help but feel pity towards his sorry fate. It seemed as though someone or something doesn't want him to go south.

The same thing happened to him when he stepped towards the east as well as the west. Anxiously, John took a step towards the north and waited for the lightning to strike. But nothing happened. John anticipated this much. There was something that needs him to go north and, it won't let him leave any other way.

“Hmm” grumbling under his breath, John walked north unwillingly. His face clearly showed anger and disgust towards the thing that forced him to walk this path.

As the day became dusk, golden rays of the sun painted the heavens red before twelve moons took the limelight.

John stared at the sky in awe. In all his life, he had never seen such wonder. In the heavens were twelve moons who glowed distinctly.

A truly mesmerizing view! This sight made him forget his thirst, but it also gave him new insight.

“This is not Earth.” He whispered in disbelief. He soon came back to his senses with a newfound hunger and thirst, which was getting stronger by the minute. There was no way out of it, he looked everywhere, but he could only see dunes, dunes, and more dunes. There was not even a hint of water anywhere.

Even though the heat reduced, John was thirsty. He knew, if this continued, he won’t make it past tomorrow afternoon.

“I may have murdered an entire city in my past life!” John sighed. After contemplating his fate and how weak he was, he continued walking for a while.

After walking for who knows how long, he collapsed on his knees and rested on them for a while. He felt that the desert had cooled down moderately before looking at the sky. The stars had just begun to appear. He took his sweet time to lay back and closed his eyes. Hunger and thirst were delaying his sleep, but slowly but surely, he fell asleep.

‘Tak Tak Tak’

John woke up due to his clattering teeth because of the sheer chillness. He knew that the deserts were cold at night, but this amount of chillness was unanticipated. Sleep was pushed out of him, and his eyes were forced open to the beautiful night sky full of shining stars. They appeared to be thousands of times more than the stars from the hearth. On top of that, the luminescent light from the multi-colored moons gives the appearance of an aurora borealis. But this is not the sight that truly made John Gasp.

The dunes around him became mirrors that reflected the stars. He appeared to be surrounded by the sky! A trip to the heavens without a spacesuit or a rocket! John’s eyes twinkled with joy.

‘Grrr’ his joy was short-lived though, his stomach ruining the mood. On top of that, he never stopped shivering. If the shivering went on like this, he would not make it to the morning. Out of desperation, he looked around for a shelter, but luck wasn't on his side, and he couldn't find anything to help him.

On a whim, he decided to walk towards the north. The physical labor somehow made it a bit unbearable, but it wasn't enough in this desert. Cursing his bad luck, John thrust his middle finger at the sky. The desert had slowly started to change his core. Unknowing to him, he was slowly turning into a different person.

The chill reduced the more as he moved towards the north. With each step, it became more and more bearable. After some time, John reached a zone of pleasant temperature and calmly lay down on the warm and hard sand. He closed his eyes and decided to sleep while ignoring his grumbling stomach.

*****

The first rays of the morning sun shone over the dunes and merrily kissed John’s eyes, forcing him to wake up. He opened his eyes and slowly got up to the same old sight of dunes. A warm wind brushed past him. He looked to his left from where the wind blew. There, not more than 300 meters from him, lay an animal, which is breathing the hot and wild wind.

No, it shouldn’t be called an animal, it’s a predator, a beast! John shuddered at the sight of the sleeping beast. He walked forward gently, trying not to make a noise. Only after walking a mile, filled with anxiety and fear, could he finally relax and breathe in relief.

*****

The sun was at its peak a few minutes ago. The heat has become so unbearable that he dropped his shoulders and kept on walking while looking at the ground dispirited. He was so out of strength that he couldn’t even curse his bad luck.

“Behehehew”

As John was slowly loathing in self-pity, he heard a neigh that sounded similar to that of a horse. If there were horses, then there must be water, or even better, there must be riders! John pulled himself together and quickly ascended the dune in front of him.

His joy knew no bounds as he saw a group of riders. They even had carriages with them!

‘Merchants!’ John thought as he saw them.

“HELP MEEEE!!!!” John shouted, gathering his pent up strength.

He merrily waved his hands.

The riders stared at the direction of the noise and found a man in tattered clothes standing atop a dune.

John, relieved from all the pent up stress and anxiety, fainted and fell. Before his eyes shut, he saw a pair of riders turn their horses and approach him at high speed.