The Knowing Sand

3 - Ahmed

I fell down onto the sand, and the man towered above me. Maybe he had been driven crazy by hunger, or maybe he's just one of those weird cannibals. Either way, I will never know because just as the man was about to lower the knife into my chest, a loud bang shoved the man onto the sizzling sand. The knife didn't hit me though, because I was rolling around on the sand like a baby. But I had a very good reason; all I could hear was this loud ringing that just would not stop. It hurt. It felt as if blood was about to pour out of my ears. But I recognised that sound. It was a gunshot.

I stopped rolling about, but I was still covering my ears, trying to make the sound go away. It must have been a really weird sight, a boy lying on the sand, panting and crying. But it really isn't something to make fun of. I felt this weird tapping noise on my head, and a moment later, the ringing noise had gone.

Slowly, I got to my feet and cleared my throat. A middle aged man stood in front of me.
'What an embarrassment'
The man had short brown hair, with a few stray strands of grey hair. His piercing hazel eyes were taking me in, along with how scruffy I looked. The man was obviously arab, maybe from Dubai, or Bahrain, I couldn't tell.

He gave me a half smile, before turning to a small camel who owned only one hump, which contrasted to the many bags on its back. I realised that the man was about to leave, so I ran after him and asked him to help me get out of the desert. The man did not understand, but he started speaking to me in a language that I understood right away. Arab man = Arab language.

'How dumb can I get?!'

We had a brief conversation, in which we introduced ourselves to each other. His name was Yusif and he was a refugee from Bahrain. He had been stripped of his nationality and forced out of Bahrain. He seeked refuge in Saudi Arabia, but he was dumped in the Arabian desert, with guns pointed at him. There was no choice in going back to Saudi for him. He had been stuck in the desert for a few days now, but he still had enough food and water to last him a month.

The man was first surprised to see me, not believing a little boy could survive a few nights in the Arabian desert.
"My name is Ahmed. I am fifteen years old, and I am from Iraq, but I live in London. Or I used to. Me and my family were on holiday in Abu Dhabi, but a sand storm swept me up from the edge of the desert. My parents and siblings were with me, but I think they got lost in the sand storm. I have little food and water, but I do have a few resources. Do you think you can help me get out of this desert?" I spoke to him in fluent Arabic, and he spoke back in that very way.

"You have forgotten that I too am lost in this desert, but you may travel with me. Now, do you by any chance have a compass?"

I took a compass out of the bag, which lay to one side, and gave it to the man.

"Thank you. Now, if you know your geography, you will know these facts, but if not, listen carefully. We must not go to the west, as the red sea lies there. We must not go to the south, as Saudi Arabia is located there. That leaves the north and the south," Yusif drew a compass on the sand with a stick, crossing out the west and the south, "The east is not safe for me as it holds Bahrain, so the north is my best option. The north gives me a choice of going to Kuwait or Iraq. But of course, you may go any which way, and you will remain safe."

I understood that Yusif was asking me where I wanted to go. And I knew that being lost in the desert with someone else is better than being lost in the desert on your own.

"I'm coming with you. Since you're going North, you can take me to Iraq, and I can return the favour by giving you somewhere to stay. I can take us to my grandparents' house, and we can stay there for a while." I told him this, and he nodded when I finished my speech.

Yusif took hold of his camel by its harness, and we set off, walking directly to the north.

Our journey through the unknown began.