The Sandy Road

"Hey, Sai! Is this a good stopping point?" shouted Ramesh from the back of the caravan.

The Thar Desert that Sai's caravan was traversing was comprised of sand that burned like coals during the day. It was impossible for anyone to walk on it without obtaining third degree burns and blisters. For this reason, they were forced to travel at night when the sand cooled. And for today, the sun was rising and it was nearly time to set up camp.

"Let's go another half mile," replied Sai.

Ramesh rolled his eyes. Sai was such a hard worker and overachiever. He was always determined to go a little further than he thought he could, and in this situation, that meant that the entire group had to push further too.

Sai was a merchant. His caravan was filled to the brim with different oils and fabrics to be delivered to the country on the opposite side of the desert. Along with this, he carried the perfect amount of food supplies for the journey. Rice, water and firewood were stored in a wagon that he pulled with oxen.

As the sun peeked its morning rays over the horizon, pink and purple hues painted the skies hanging above the vast expanse of white sand dunes. The caravan slowly came to a halt in response. The group began to unpack an awning that was to stretch across the group of people and animals in order to protect them from the sun while they rested. One by one, they drove stakes into the sand and attached to the tarp to hang above them. Beneath, they all cooked rice and awaited nightfall.

The following day, they went about their typical routine of packing up for the continued journey. Only, this time, it would be the final leg of their travels. Sai decided that they were close enough to throw out the water and firewood to make the wagon a little lighter. A grave mistake.

Eight hours passed. "Oh no!!" shouted Ramesh, who was also the pilot, who had been guiding the group across the desert. "I fell asleep and we have gone in a complete circle!"

"You have got to be kidding me. We have no water and no wood. What do you expect me to do??" exclaimed Sai.

Unwilling to sit idly, Sai went in search of water...in a desert...a nearly impossible feat.

He walked the perimeter of the camp and with each revolution, he broadened the area of the search. Eventually, he came across a tuft of grass. He took his spade and his hammer and began to dig tirelessly. He dug through layers and layers of sand and even broke through rock underneath!!

"Yes!! There is water under this rock!!" Sai shuttled water back to the men and oxen and they ate and drank to prepare for the REAL last day of traveling. This time, Ramesh would not fall asleep.

Jataka Tales. Babbitt.

Author's Note:

Hi, and thanks for visiting my site! This story was originally written without dialogue and with minimal descriptions. It was written in a more generalizing style and rather detached. None of the characters had names or backgrounds to bring them to life. I really liked reading this story and found that it was easy to elaborate on. Generally, I just expanded on the base story as I did not see anything I wanted to change. I added names, dialogue and description in order to make the story more personable and easy to visualize. For the sake of a little humor, I decided to add in some more sassy comments to create a more light atmosphere. I also tried to make the process of finding the well a little bit more stressful and more engaging to read! I am definitely open to comments and suggestions, though, as this story is not extremely long. I am also hoping to find more places to create descriptions and imagery. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it! Head over to my comment wall and then stop back by to see future revisions. Happy until!

(Underground Water Source. Taken from pxhere)