Happiness in the Desert

The gaze that guided her steps suddenly vanished. Darkness took over everything around her and for an instant, Rebeca felt like she was walking in the emptiness of loneliness. She stopped immediately and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and for a moment, she doubted if she had already closed them. She thought very quickly, encouraging herself. She breathed slowly, filling her lungs to the maximum and exhaling very slowly, trying to increase her internal energies to face herself. She said to herself, «Calm down Rebecca, now you are going to open your eyes and they will continue to guide you on the path to salvation, calm down and trust». She took two more breaths of air, which she felt very fresh, filling her spirit and being with much strength. After a couple of minutes, he said to himself, «Open your eyes» and what he saw could not have been more disturbing.

Only darkness. There was nothing to see, because his eyes if he had them open at all, could see nothing but a deep and empty black, only lifeless darkness. He blinked several times and the result was the same, the darkness enveloped everything. He closed his eyes again and with his hands, rubbing his eyelids, he slapped his face while saying to himself: «Please, it works again». He hesitated for a moment to open his eyes and again, began to take deep breaths and repeat words of encouragement to himself. He opened his eyes and even the dark curtain was still covering his gaze.

Rebecca, still with her eyes open, thought frantically about what could be happening. She blinked constantly, hoping to recover her gaze, which, until a few moments ago, was guiding her along a desolate and arid path. She had already lost count of how long she had been walking aimlessly in that inhospitable desert. The thirst, which until the moment of going blind had been bothering her, had disappeared. When she reflected on that and whether she was really blind, she said to herself that maybe it was due to dehydration. She thought about the last thing she had seen and remembered it was just sand, lots of sand. The sun was already setting on the horizon, where she was headed, and she had assumed that perhaps walking at night would be more comfortable. She shuddered a little as she remembered what she had told herself, that at night she wouldn't be able to see anything. So, she sat down on the sand.

She crossed her legs to feel more comfortable, placed her hands on either side of her body, and, palms down, leaned back a little until she rested on the sand. She felt it warm and very fine and took some in her hands. He brought it close to his face, always blinking, waiting anxiously for his eyes to uncover and let him see how fine it was, because that's how he felt it. She let it fall between her fingers and imagined seeing the cascade of fine sand falling to the ground, where it would be lost among the endless grains that reigned there. She felt like an intruder in this arid environment and in her mind, she apologized for interrupting the eternal calm of this place. Without strength, she let herself fall completely face up, and thinking of her new reality, lost in the desert, thirsty, without water, and blind, she began to cry, disconsolate.