Granulated Path

It had been some time since he had passed through a town. He had looked forward to it - to feeling the cobblestone under his feet, smelling the food on the venors' carts, hearing other voices other than his own. The journey had been long and hard. He had tried counting as he trudged through the dunes, the wind wiping the sand across his face, waiting to reach his destination, the city beyond the horizon. It had begun as days, slowly turning into weeks, into what he thought was months. One dune blended into the next. The sun beat down. It could have been years. Yet, he continued on, creating his own trail amongst the meandering dunes.

Why was he wandering into the desert? He was not so sure. He had heard that it was his destiny, his goal to reach what lay beyond the horizon, the city at the edge of the world. Growing up it had always been a rumor, but once the seed was planted in his head, he knew he had to make it. He wasn't sure how it was his destiny or why, nor did he care. Once his first foot was buried within the warm sand, it became his journey - something he needed to finish. It wasn't for anyone else. Or an answer. It was something he had to do.

The last town he had passed through was now just a distant memory lost amongst the swirling sand. He had fooled himself into thinking it was the end to his journey, but deep within his heart he was prepared that it wasn't. But it was not as hard to continue as he had thought.

He had come this far - further than he thought possible. Stopping was not an option.

Dropping his head, he continued forward, into the wind - for in the distance he thought he saw a glimmer on the horizon.