beautiful woman who was just carrying a big jug of water on her head.
“Come to our village, you can rest a while.”
“Oh yes. Thank you.” She said that gratefully.
When they arrived in the village Tasha saw many little houses made of mud, tents and also
small children playing in the sunshine.
“How come you still have water? Isn’t the spring empty?”
“Never in this place of the desert. We are behind mountains and they keep the sand cold and
wet. In every time of the year we have water.”
“I wished I lived here, there would be fewer deaths in my village.”
“Anyway, where were you going? Why did you leave home and what’s your name?”
“My name is Tasha and I’m going to the far, far dunes to find water, I volunteered.”
“Oh that is very brave of you but you still have a long way to go, I know the way, my
ancestors had to walk there before settling here, I can help you.”
“It is very nice of you but I must do it alone, the only thing I need is water and enough to stay
alive for the end of the walk and my way back.”
“Ok then, you can attach the jug to your camel and give him something to drink; he looks like
he’s going to collapse.”
She got a rest and then prepared to leave the village that had saved her life.
“Bye, she called; I will never forget what you did for me.”
And she left with no one to talk to but her old and dirty camel. Finally, after a very long day,
she arrived in front of the enormous and impressive dunes. She saw the river and was about to
run in its direction when she remembered what her grandpa had told her: “If you find yourself
between three stones, you’re in danger…”
She stopped abruptly and looked around to find the path. She finally saw it. She attached
her camel to a cactus and advanced to the bridge. She put one foot on the bridge to check how
strong it was. It looked solid. She put her other foot and walked slowly. But suddenly violent winds
started to blow. It was as if she had woken up a sand storm. Sand was getting everywhere in her
clothes, ears, eyes. The pain was awful and the wind was blowing so hard on her that she put one
foot out of the bridge and the other followed. She was falling, she screamed and screamed for help
but nobody heard her! She tried to free herself but the sand was sucking her. She disappeared in
the sand like the other victims.
Back in the village, the villagers were still waiting for Tasha to come back; it had now been two
days and a half that she had gone. On the evening of the third day a camel came trotting in the
village out of nowhere. A voice of a child screamed: “Isn’t it Tasha’s camel, why isn’t she on it?”
But the elders didn’t need to be told, they all knew what it meant, she would not return. She
was gone forever…
