Short stories
The Lonely Reaper

The Lonely Reaper

Hour three, 14th of June.

The lone and level sands stretch far away. It’s been three hours since I’ve gotten lost. All I can see is sand and sand and sand. Sometimes, I see a pool of water, an oasis, but then I realise that it’s just a mirage. Never have I been so thirsty.

4th hour, 14th of June.

I keep on walking and get nowhere. The lone and level sands stretch far away. Very far, but how far? Where does it stop? No one knows.

5th hour,14th of June.

All I can think of is water.Fresh, pure and pristine. I need it, I need help. I feel like helpless insects would. Always being stamped on, poor lifeless things. I guess I’ll be one of them soon.

Hour?? 15th of June.

I eventually blacked out. I couldn’t get up, still can’t. It’s as if my legs were made of stone. Yet I survive, for now. And still, the lone and level sands stretch far away. Time is slow and yet so fast. How can something so calm be so deadly. I guess everything IS about conflict and everything IS powerful.

Hour?? 15th of June.

Blacked out again. The sand is moving, the trees in the distance whisper my name. I reach them and they seem yet even more far away. I see a pool of water,I’m saved!, but as I drink it, it turns to sand. I can hear a voice. No, it’s two of them. Wait, it’s only one. I don’t even know anymore.

Hour?? 16th of June.

I feel into a horrid, dreamless, deep sleep. The clouds dance above my head. I hear them yell, their screams echo through my mind. I see a face , rather a shattered visage. Wrinkled lips. Hollow lifeless eyes that match my own. The lone and level sands stretch far away. Will anyone find me in this deserted and antique land? Doesn’t matter, It’s too late.

And finally, It’s over. I see the reaper whose name is Death, approaching. I give up, It’s over. I think of no one as I have no one. Death is a blessing in disguise. Is that how it’s spelled? The words on these pages dance before me, telling me the story of a pathetic creature, who dies alone. Same name as mine.

And yet,

The lone and level sands stretch far away.