THE OASIS
It's so hot, I can barely stand it. My clothes are glued to me, especially my T-shirt - the thing is clinging like a second skin.
I've been walking for about an hour now, not an excess by any means bit the heat is taking its toll. I can almost feel my muscle atrophying, cooking in the deep, penetrating heat.
It's not entirely unpleasant, but I am going to need shelter soon, or a break from the heat. The road shimmers and web the houses that line its banks have a ghostly aura about them.
When I first see the oasis, I'm not sure that it's real. The cool shadows and rippling green rubber oblong seem too good to be true - and yet there they are.
I quickly cross the street for a closer look. The sparkling diamond surface draws me closer. I stumble, briefly, then plow my way through the thick gelatinous humidity.
My arms pinwheel and as I approach the final yard, my feet leave the ground. I drift through the air in slow motion and my brain, weakened by my slow cooker skull, almost believes time will come to a complete halt leaving me inches from my goal.
It doesn't though and I hit the surface of the pool with a great satisfying displacement of water.
When I finally resurface with an elephantine spurt of water, I notice a young girl with an inflatable ring around her pudgy belly, and an unamused man who could only be her father, staring down at me in confusion.
I smile sheepishly and slowly sink back beneath the surface of the lukewarm waters.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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