December 13, 1993 : Other Press The Desert By Charlotte Holst There are no cars here and no men with guns. I'll miss my friends and the dampness of B.C., my homeland: This is a 0 © 26 nice change, it's so warm and dry. I like es? ot” an we oa, es 3 : oe oe w x sitting here on this sun bleached rock, being gro yont con AS ow warmed by the big white sun. I like the . Sot se og ss colours here, everything is light and space. wo ce we oe RS. ca "Oh! Feel that wind." It's so strong | oe 1g ee od - almost toppled off the rock’. mw ee wr? ws” I'm glad I'm alone. I don't need av Or , rod F companionship and there is nothing here but Wwe ou © ac: ee Wo w=" gs lizards and rats. They only venture out at oe or so a a ge © és aie gs dusk to.scurry around doing their business in KS er od sete yet a wo eo es we the coolness of the coming night. =~ Phi ae SY se” oo yo ont © "What will I eat?" I never thought of os oF. es av RC od 0 ne it. I just came here with nothing. Those rats e a? S i 3s 3 eve are big and the lizards long; I think I can ww ae eso yor ae make a meal of them. go Yo es AG ad ee Now that my stomach is full, I have cares aie oe es to find a shelter to sleep. This place has many mp 00 ys Ra ene? Z nt ruins. I'll find a sturdy one and sleep in it. cael 0b" ed awe I wake up earlier here, that's good! I'll wo e 5. a oe waste none of my precious day. I explored eg® ae ow ow ao 0b the space here. It amazes me. I'm so used to fs aye or oo ao gor ae many trees but here it is flat except when I gy ¥ sor - oe ae wie ree agdO yb P, HPT “Ve”. go out ten minutes from my new home ye ae — oe .There are wedge-shaped hills going on for fe ~ o qo et oe oe awhile and then slowly sinking into the sand. ov es Ob —e x ge 580% 99° On the hills there are patterns of waves Oe we 0°. ee “oe bg captured still. The hills themselves make the oo g ww n xe 9 < oe oe pattern of waves, the ax-edge tops rising and 3 Oh » se the wide bottoms melting like an ice cube S sos £36 oe into a puddle of sand across this great land. OPW I know soon my intrigue for this al . place will become only familiarity but I think oe 2” my love of it will never die. I will stay here ne for the rest of my life. Again my day is over. After my meal, 4y5e the sun is gone and I settle down to sleep. o> ah I look up into that bright blue sky. ons® 49 ore pe It's flawless; there are no planes, no clouds a ee st © 0 3 pei ; é ; « axe ef 1 9 we and no birds in it. It is so solid and wide I wnie* Sy 4 aoe oo? oe ye? feel that it is like a manmade cover just a yo goe® oe ge ys? or mile above my head. I must have looked into vN s* gon 00% {0% Ai as that sky for a long time and I would have ays oe - Pe yer we aye oF ca ® looked at it longer if the noise didn't disturb ¢ Pr ge wien goon) oo 58 woo" my concentration. I looked up and the sky gory, wt is > ™ er grew dark. The sand was stirring around. I geo? “a BIee pe BEN. oie ‘ had the feeling of danger and fear, apparently ~ we got : ay oY 88 co am ve ¢ 0b so did the rats and lizards. They were BEATE so? cS geo or Bt he running about in total panic. A sand storm POT He FL ne” ose ¥ Baie _ Br a . was on it's way. I grabbed as many of the poe en ie evel go we desert rats and lizards as I could to eat. I went So wes Vy g eo? ie to my shelter, into a protective corner to wait Nw oF 0 ae Oe ae 3 sh gc out the storm. «vel . 08” oo e thy <0 ae ye I woke from my unexpected sleep . poe | \ood wo er ga ae ow? The storm had gone. I went out to look if x We wet none. So I started my day like any other, HO Coe on eet ? gr p'8* <0 flying about to conquer the sky. For you see I wat gw® ao r si ge és mae om am an eagle who will endure the laws of a ere wo on i act re nature. pod yam - ss oe xO oe ow \ yo Te oF oe ae) ye, awn see ee Hee DOH gO ge. ce thee tyri ting page ne ae poems & stories from Douglas students no