The desert is the only place anyone has ever known—the heavy warmth of the sun and the dry air are seemingly forever.

It's only a question as to what could be out there–and the peoples of the desert have made up tales as answers. There is a tale of a large fertile Oasis with abundant fruits and water hidden nearby; it shows itself to those who dare trek through the unforgiving desert sands. Many people have tried to prove the tale, and many have not returned. The tale is nowadays only a tradition that the older folks tell–hardly anyone believes it, even the children with their creative imaginations seem to find it boring.

That was not the case for me. Every time I heard that legend, I would dream of fresh running water and fruit. No more sand, no more hot, dry air–even the sun would be more bearable. I knew that someday I would go out and find the Oasis to live out my dreams of having eternal food and water. The chiefs of the desert peoples usually forbid leaving the encampments, and I knew the chief of my encampment would not be too happy if another soul was lost to the sand. But, I couldn't have a care in the world about what some old guys think.

I'm going to prove to them that I can find the Eternal Oasis, even if I risk the loss of everything I have ever known. I'm going to prove to them all.

Now, I knew that I could not undertake such a journey alone. I had already recruited my older brother, Warren, and my best friend, Magnolia to my cause. She had promised me that she would steal one those ten-gallon water jugs from school, and that Warren would steal as much meal replacement powder from his work on the army barracks, as long as I drew up the map for the journey. I was as excited as someone could be about hyper-protein meal powder, mostly made from ground up remains of whatever lived around here -- snake bones, and scorpion shells, ground into powder and mixed into water. To be honest, I wasn't even quite sure that the water here was real, it was thickened and warm, colour ranging from anywhere to cloudy white or a muddy grey depending on the day.

I hated it here. I had nothing better to do but fantasize about the fruits described in legend: bright, vibrant mangoes, juicy bursting pineapples, coconuts filled with fresh, sweet water and bananas that cmae with their very own shells.

As I sat in my room that night, in our four-person bungalow, pens scattered across the floor as I pored over a large roll of paper, I drafted it out. I had taken a book form the school library on the myths and legends of The Oasis, and worked off of that. One said it was a mile away from by a lush mangrove -- the closest thing I knew to that around here was a cluster of dried out shrubs. One said the air around it shimmered gold and pink, which I presumed meant it was located in the deepest part of the desert, hot enough that the air could move like water, glittering. It took me four days to finish the map. I rolled it up, and tucked it into my schoolbag for the next day.

I sat down next to Magnolia at lunch. "Hey, Maggie, I finished it."

She turned to me eyes wide. She almost dropped her spoon into her scorpion-snake-scale soup. "The map?"

I nodded. "Yeah. We leave with Warren in his army buggy tonight."

She grinned back. "I'll be there."

Magnolia and I waited at the edge of town, crouched behind a latrine. I found that amusing, since sneaking out made me feel like I would crap myself. The water jug sat beside me, where it's been—filled—waiting for the past day. The night temperature was just cool enough to make me feel chilly. A gentle breeze blew, further compounding my goose bumps.

"Pete, where is he," Maggie hissed at me. "He's thirty minutes late."

"Shh," I intoned.

Somebody sneezed, their footsteps came closer to our cover. On the other side of us the door to the outhouse opened, then shut. I could hear someone relieving themself. I tried to focus on the sand. After a few minutes the door swung open, then closed again.

"I'm going to kill Warren when I see him next," Maggie said. "Just for making me listen to that."

Maggie's an angry person, It's just the way she was, I tried to be more neutral in these situations.

"Maybe he's biding his time, waiting for the right opportunity," I offered.

Maggie seemed dissatisfied, but she remained quiet. All was still for a while longer. The sand gently rustled in the breeze, time seemed frozen for all to see.

"Maggie, look," I said, waiting with bated breath. She squinted out at the dessert. "Look, there it was again.

Sure enough, a light flashed in our direction, it looked like–"headlights," Maggie and I say in unison. We grin at each other for a moment, there's only one person that could be!

By the time I lugged the—questionably sourced—water to the buggy my shoulder felt tense.

"You couldn't have parked any closer?" I chided.

"I didn't want anyone to hear the engine. I had to drive out the back entrance, I couldn't risk driving through town."

"He's got a point," Maggie interjected.

She may have been grumpy at Warren for taking so long, but I can tell she's impressed he actually managed to sneak the vehicle out. One thing she admired more than punctuality is competence.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go," Maggie said.

We loaded into the vehicle.

"Woah," Maggie exclaimed, peaking underneath a tarp draped over the trunk. "That's a lot of gross powder."

"Yeah it is," I seconded.

We drove for hours, stopping once in a while to consult the map. Two things quickly became apparent to me: ten gallons of water for three people were nowhere near enough—I should have foreseen this—and this map was utterly useless. I cobbled it together with fairytales and broken dreams. I threw it down on the floor of the buggy.

Warren, who's standing a few feet away, turned to look at me, "You look so defeated, Pete. where's that boy with such a sense of adventure, nothing could stop him?"

"That was before everything went wrong."

"You just need a new perspective," Warren said, pointing away from me.

I wasn't sure what he was getting at, then I realized what he saw. A sand dune—larger than the rest—stretched out in the distance. Excitment coursed through me. Maybe we could see something from atop it!

Warren looked at me, smiling, "there he is."

getting to the vantage point of the dune proved to be more of a challenge than we thought. The buggy crapped out half-way there.

"Grab what you can carry, we'll have to leave the rest behind, Warren said. We each filled a water bottle, and stored in our backpacks as much gross-powder as possible. The journey on foot was arduous. It was nearing mid day. there was no reprieve from the intensity of the sun. I felt like I was losing more moisture from perspiring than I could possibly replenish, even without the new ration restriction.

"We can't go on like this," Maggie said, breaking the silence. Warren, who was usually calm and collected appeared for the first time, anxious.

"I don't want to end up like Elder John," I said. "He'd always talk about that time he got lost in the desert for a week, surviving only by drinking his own urine."

"I think I'd rather die," Maggie decided.

He acts like that was his defining moment, I spoke "The piss must have addled his brain." Maggie and Darren giggled. I felt a little better hearing them.

We trudged onward toward what end, we did not know. I put my bottle to my lips, relishing the last few drops.

"Need. More." The others didn't look much better off. Warren had completely lost his cool, I could see the worry etched on his face. I know he's probably thinking it's his fault that we're about to die out here. But the truth is, our town had become too small for me, nothing could have stopped me from leaving, not even him. Maggie was staggering like she might lose her footing, stumbling and catching herself right before she fell.

I had just decided my death would surely have something to do with this noxious heat, when I spotted about a quarter mile from us, a most glorious sight—a beautiful oasis, lush trees surrounded the most ethereal body of water I'd ever seen. Actually, it was the only body of water I'd ever seen, still I supposed as far as water bodies go, this one was pretty superb. "Look," I insisted, my voice barely a hoarse whisper. The other two followed my gaze, seeming confused by what they saw. "Follow. Me." I turned away from the direction of the large dune.

I led the way, this was my moment. I was so thirsty, I'd never been more thirsty in my life. Still, I had found what I was looking for not even a day into my adventure, I had found it. I could show everyone back at town where it was, I would be hailed a hero. Our lives would forever be changed by my discovery. We trudged onward, too delirious for much else. Closer and closer. I was beginning to imagine the taste of the clear water. Keep moving. I watched in horror as the image melted away before my eyes, leaving me staring at nothing but sand.

Maggie bumped into me from behind, toppling us both over, I lay where I fell, staring up at the scorching ball of gas beating down on us. I heard Warren make a similar decent nearby. This is where it ends, duped by a mirage. Where might we be if we had continued to our vantage point? I tried to lift my head. The large dune was now too far away. My body was getting away from me, muscle spasms and shriveling skin. I felt like I was turning into a raisin.

At first I thought I had died. It was as if someone had turned down the intensity of the sun. A cool breeze picked up, making the conditions almost pleasant. then I felt it, it couldn't be—could it? There it was again, cool moisture had fallen on my leg. I opened my eyes. Dark clouds had rolled over-head, obscuring the sun. gentle pitter-patter soon morphed to a torrential downpour.

I fumbled in my bag for the water bottle. In my weakened state even the empty bottle seemed heavy. I managed to unscrew the top, I filled it from a nearby pool forming next to me. I noticed my companions were doing the same. "Not dead yet," I croaked.

Before long we were on our feet again, taking shaky steps toward the large ridge.

The rain had lessened to a drizzle. Still weak, but invigorated by their brush with death, the three companions made steady progress forward. As they crested the top of the hill, they were struck by awe at what they saw.