Dehydration

Things don't always fade to black.

I needed a drink of water. I was starting to see things. Just a few minutes ago, I thought I saw my childhood dog. But why would she be all the way out here? The sun shone a hazy spotlight on me toasting my skin to not quite burned. How long have I been out here? On the horizon a lonely chunk of foliage topped trunk hid the only shade I have seen in ages. Is it a bush? Or a tree? It doesn’t matter I am wrapping myself around that trunk and hiding in its shade as long as it lasts. But first I have to get there.

The sand beneath my sneakers- enveloping my sneakers made the trek towards that shade like shuffling through congealed molasses. That lone outpost of darkness never seemed to get closer. The sand had filled my shoes and socks again. I slumped to the searingly hot sand and poured the sand from my footwear. This wasn’t looking good. I had once heard a survival tip that if you were caught in a situation like this you should pee on a piece of clothing and wrap it around your head to keep it cool. I ran out of pee yesterday. The cotton shirt I had wrapped around my head was dry, almost brittle. I whipped it off my head, sniffed it and cast it aside. I should be hunkered down somewhere keeping cool. I should have stayed in one place. I should have never gotten in that car.

How long could a person go without water? In this heat? I don’t think I am even sweating anymore. I tripped over a root. I looked down. No! This plant should be on the horizon, and taller. Not a tiny shrub for me to trip over? I couldn’t even cool my hand in its shade. I leaned against it and it bent against my weight. I closed my eyes. I needed a plan.

A cool wet tongue swabbed my face. I struggled to open my eyes. It was Sophie, but she died the year I graduated from high-school. She licked my face again and again. I felt much cooler, actually a comfortable temperature. The desert around me didn’t feel as hot. I looked up in the sky as it began to bleach away to whiteness. It was brighter that the sun had ever been, but it was a soothingly cool light. Sophie nudged her head under my hand. I looked down and I was sitting on an expansive lawn of sweet smelling grass. Just behind Sophie stood my mother and grandmother. I recognized my grandmother from grainy photographs. What was going on here?

It dawned on me that I must’ve died. Sophie yapped happily at me. She was trying to get me to stand up. I took off my sandy shoes, and barefoot I ran to my long passed loved ones.

485 words


prompt ▼

June ptompt
New prompt:
I needed a drink of water. I was starting to see things. Just a few minutes ago, I thought I saw...

Starting Stories  (13+) A new contest I made. Using story starters to write stories. #2329470 by MayDay