Columns of water shot up from the desert sand. Hanging in the air, the gravity of earth pulled the water into a hyetal of rain shower. Engulfing the doomed dry desolation of land with moist sensations of life. Tiny pools of liquid formed into populus lakes. Expanding, barraging the cacti and ripping them from their loose foothold in the crude sand.  In the middle of the night, the moon’s luminescent rays beaming down on the new formed basin, causing the tides to rise and fall to a slow rhythm. Except for the constant murmur of the waves breaching and brushing the newborn shore; the land’s silence was repletely filling the air.
I awoke with a cool breeze blowing in from the window, lifting the cloth suspended over the square cut out and letting it fall gently. The fresh air circled around the compacted sand wall of my home. Gradually I leaned up on the braided leaf cover laid flat to protect me from the loose soil like floor. I shivered as another rush of nipping gusts flowed in. In passive movements I pushed myself onto my numb bare feet. Cautiously moving towards the makeshift window I slid aside the loose textiles. A sudden flash of a dark head bolted by followed with cheers of joy and excitement. People thrust forward in the thick cloud of sweat and excrement. Naked mal-nourished children streaked in and out of small gaps. Slowly I turned letting my eyes fall upon the bark door that hung crooked. Seemingly at any time, it would let go and fall off the hinges. The door swung open, bashing the wall it hit as it broke in two and crumpled to the floor. The two men that stared at me with shining eyes and beaming smiles paced up to me and grasped my hand.
“Jabari…” the smile stretching ear to ear, “It’s a miracle.” The largest man said still grinning.
“What miracle?” I respond doubting the chance of a true surprise, “The only miracle we get is when the sandstorms miss us.”
“I promise Jabari,” The other man said with reassurance, “If you follow us we will show you.” I nodded and the two men stood up.
“Let me grab my sack , then we will head.”
We walked through the thoroughfare beholding the clay architecture of the clay chambers stacked upon one another with only thin cutouts within the walls to allow access to the second room. Shifting onto another dirt path we approached the boundaries of our township. The tall structures faded behind us as we marched to the miracle.
“Please!” I yelled arousing the small lizard that huddled in the rock formations, “What is it!”.
“We heard from a man that had voyaged from Kanem and witnessed a miracle. We too asked him what this was but all that he could describe was as a wonderful possibly magical occasion.” The cool breeze gradually increased as the blue line on the horizon approached.
The sand under my feet blew side to side as we set up camp around the stoked fire. The cold desolate night rapidly filled in as the sun set on the Sahara. I reached for the rolled cloth in my sack and spread it out over the sand. I gently place my head onto the cloth as I let my dreams overwhelm my consciousness.
My body shivered violently and quickly realizing the fire was out leaving us without heat. A sudden spray of gun shots went off and the sand kicked up all around our campsite. The solid night still under way limited my vision. I scavenged for my friends as the crimson  sand around them left me cold. More sand kick up into my face as I could make out the outlines of numerous men. Their yelling began to get louder. I got to my feet just as a bullet landed inches away from my hunched position. I bolted, running with what little supplies I could squander. Leaving behind the lifeless bodies of my friend that dreamed of seeing the miracle. I ran towards the reflection of the moon off in the distance bouncing off the blue line in the distance.
The adrenaline began to wear off leaving only sweat on my face. The hot sun broke the surface of earth bringing hot Rays of light. Flashbacks of the events of the nights before replayed again and again. The blood, the noise, the cold all coming back in waves of devastation. For the first time my eyes dripped water and the drops rolled down and off onto the dry sand. The blue line suddenly expanded a crossed the curvature of the land, reaching from horizon to horizon. This provided me hope that there was some sort of survival.
I began to dizzy as my journey to the miracle continued I took short deliberate step that left craters in the sand. The sweat stopped pouring down my face. I tripped onto my knees barely able to hold my head up, the shore only a hundred yards away. The freshwater smell enveloped my senses and the cool breeze. I crawled slowly deteriorating as the water within my body disappeared. As the last few feet passed behind me the blue water receded back but not like ocean waves; these never came back. The water disappeared into nothing, sinking back into the sand. I lay there in disbelief as my body gave way to the darkness.
I awoke in a chair, back in my house the wooden door still lay there in two pieces. A filled water jug sat next to me. I wasn't safe. It didn't feel right. Nothing felt right now.