What if you woke up on your back on a comfortable warm surface, looking up at a velvet sky and there was a piece of sand in your eye? Wouldn't it seem like a round coffee stain on a snow-white tablecloth? It could even seem like banging your toe at the end of a perfect day.
When my eyes opened at first I quickly squinted my right eye and rubbed it with the back of my hand. My entire body felt like it had just gone through hell and was now gently resting on a peaceful cloud feeling all the comfort. With my still good left eye I looked up at the sky that floated magnificently before me. Although I only saw half of it, its beauty from what could be seen was enough to relax me into a dream world. It was streamed with shades of purple, blue and red. Orange glowed in a part of it's own to the bottom left corner. The tacky grain of sand shot pain all through my eye and into my brain. The rubbing of the back of my hand only made the pain worse. How could something so insignificant bring a man to tears? I could not take this torture on my back. I sat up and leaned forward. Peering down into the tan ground with specks of purple and gold, I cried and eagerly rubbed my eye some more. It wasn't helping. I put my left hand down to support myself. It slipped into the cool, silky desert floor. I would have enjoyed all these supreme sensations had I not been suffering. My mind was preoccupied with this and then suddenly the pain stopped. I slowly brought my hand away and kept my swollen tear soaked eye shut. I decided this is the way it would stay until water could be found to rinse it out. I set my hand on the ground and allowed myself to release its tension. It got sand stuck to it because it was wet from tears. Even though I couldn't see this, I could feel it. I brushed it off on my right leg which I couldn't see either. I was wearing very light cloths, jeans and a T-shirt. I scanned over what I could see with my one good eye. I could not remember how I got here. Isn't that how tales of drunken men normally begin?
I was in a desert all right. I could see cacti, feel the sand under me, and hear the silence of a desert at dusk. I had no clue where I was in the desert. Was I miles from civilization? How did I get out here? Am I going to die if I don't find help? I could not suppress these thoughts; they rushed through my head like out of control bumper cars. Without hesitation I stumbled to my feet, and found myself very off balance. I had to take a few steps to keep from falling over. "Where in God's name am I!" I shouted at the sky. I looked to my left, my one reliable direction, with my one reliable eye. It was nearing dark, but I thought I saw something move that startled me. I immediately began walking towards it. I felt the lumps in the sand buckle under my weight, constantly shifting me off balance. "I can not die." I thought to myself. If I got myself all the way out in the middle of nowhere I can get myself back to people, and water to rinse out this grain of sand. Each step I took, also took away from the peaceful comfort I once had when I laid on my back. I could feel my heart rate go up and my breathing get heavier. "I'm not giving up." I reassured myself. How long had I been walking? At least 3 hours I guessed and I got nowhere. My walk turned into shuffling and then my foot hit a rock and I tripped. I fell face first into the sand; my arms where to weak to break my fall. The pain came back in my right eye. It was the grain of sand, still there, still hanging on. I rolled over onto my back. "It's over."
I don't know how long I was out but a voice woke me up. It sounded Mexican. "Am I alive I asked?" He said "Si." He gave me some water, which I was very much obliged to take. I just sat there in the morning sun looking around at my surroundings. "How did you find me?" I asked. "Easy senor," He said, "I just followed your footstep tracks. They started just outside your hotel room. Senor what made you get up and walk all the way out into the middle of nowhere?" I looked down at a little grain of sand floating in a drop of water on the back of my hand.
