The Desert Oracle

Alex had been trudging through the sand for what felt like days. Climbing up and down dunes, his body was heavy from exhaustion. His feet seeming to sink deeper into the soft sand with every step. Alex turned his head to look towards the crimson horizon, where the sun was setting… or was it rising? He couldn’t remember. As Alex thought about whether the sun was retiring for the day or getting up to greet him, his foot struck something sticking out of the sand.

Nearly losing his balance, Alex threw his other foot in front of him to stop his forward momentum. His foot struck the sand with a hollow “thump”. Standing back up from his impromptu “lunge”, Alex saw what had tripped him up. The corner of what looked like some kind of box jutted out of the sand, its brown color blending into the sand. Kneeling, he began to dig up the thing. As he dug, he found it to be more of a “chest” than a box really. A large leather-bound chest now sat, uncovered, in front of Alex. It looked like it had been here before the desert. Its leather skin dry and cracking. The metal of the chest’s lock looked ancient, almost entirely rusted away.

“That shouldn’t be here.” Alex mused to no one but himself.

Grabbing the lock to closer inspect it, Alex was surprised when it turned to powder in his hand. With the only obstacle preventing him from doing so now gone, Alex threw open the lid of the chest. Peaking inside he found himself disappointed. The chest was just full of sand. As he moved to stand up something in the chest caught his eye. In the middle of the sand filled chest sat a small doll, hunched over a small chest, half buried in the sand. The hair on the back of Alex’s neck stood up. The doll was wearing the same clothes as him, its hunched body position mirrored the pose that Alex was now frozen in.

“That really shouldn’t be here.” Alex blurted out in a panicked tone.

He turned to run away from the chest, making it only a couple strides before stopping. In front of Alex now stood a massive monolithic figure. Alex found himself fixed in place by fear. The figure stood almost 40 feet tall. It seemingly made of shadow; Alex could not discern a single detail besides its outline. Its skin absorbing any light that touched it. The towering outline stood, looking down at Alex.

“Why are you here?” A voice echoed through the desert. The sound surrounding Alex, as if the air itself was speaking to him.

Alex only stood, staring at the figure. A minute passed; two minutes passed. Neither of them moved.

“Why are you here?” the desert air asked Alex again.

“I... I don’t know. I think I’m lost. I don’t know where to go.” Alex sputtered out.

The shadow man knelt on one knee. It now only stood some 20 feet above Alex. Even though Alex could not see the features of the figure’s face, he could feel its eyes on him.

“Can you tell me which way to go?” Alex asked sheepishly.

“No.” Alex heard the response come from all around him.

Anger welled up inside of Alex. “What do you mean no? Just give me directions out of this sandpit! Tell me where I should go!”

“You must choose where it is that you want to be, I cannot choose for you” The desert sand said.

The towering figure stood back up. It turned and began to walk away from Alex towards the blood red horizon. Its feet somehow not disturbing a single grain of sand. After a few ethereal silent steps, the figure turned its head back towards Alex.

“You decide where you belong, Alex. No one can do that for you” This time the voice seemed to emanate from the figure. The figure turned its head away and resumed its march towards the crimson light of the perpetually setting/rising sun.

Alex awoke with a start, the alarm on his phone blaring. The real world came crashing back into his consciousness. He had slept in his car that night, having driven the whole day prior. It was the first day of student registration at his dream college. He remembered arguing with his family in the kitchen. His dad openly and unashamedly bashing his choice of major while slamming his fist on the counter. His younger sisters crying, while tugging on his jacket, asking why he couldn’t just stay on the farm. His older brother standing in the corner, shaking his head and avoiding Alex’s eyes.

He wanted to go home, he wanted to tell his sisters that he was sorry for leaving, that it wouldn’t happen again. He wanted to joke with his father, the way they used to while repairing fence posts or shearing sheep. He wanted to prove to his older brother that he wasn’t a coward, that this wasn’t him running away.

Alex took his car keys and inserted them into the ignition. He paused, suddenly aware of the choice that laid before him. He could go home to his old life. The life his family had been living for generations. His dad’s dad’s dad had worked that same plot of land. Or he could go and complete student registration. Break from tradition. Sitting between the two choices, Alex felt lost and insecure, like he didn’t belong. He wished he could just throw himself in a box and burry it somewhere.

The words from Alex’s dream returned to him. Some of the details already fading from his memory, but the monolithic man cloaked in darkness still stood out in his mind.

“I choose where I belong, no one else” Alex said to himself, alone in his car.

He took his keys from the ignition and opened the car door. Stepping out felt like stepping into a new world, like he had crossed some unknown and invisible horizon. He strode towards the student reception center.