• M a k t u b : Spirit of the desert • [ Taekook ]

• Prologue •

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• Our pain is too deep for us not to despise others, our life is too miserable for us to be satisfied with ourselves. •
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Someone once said 'I'm going to the desert to lose my mind and find my soul'.

But I say 'Go where you feel happiest'.

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May 2001

The temperature dropped significantly below average for this time of year.

It made me reconsider my wardrobe when I got home. I tightened the jacket I was wearing that day, buttoned the last button on it.

Mr. Ali noticed that and pressed the gas, with the intention of getting home quickly. The scarf that was wrapped around my head fluttered under the open roof, while the desert air filled with small invisible particles of red dust whipped my face.

I mostly spent my free days like this, in the desert. That was my routine and habit for the past years.

In those free days, the first thing I do when I opened my eyes in the morning would certainly be the thought of getting lost myself in the endless expanse of golden sand.

When such mornings would come, Mr. Ali always welcome me with a ready breakfast and real strong black coffee, which I loved so much that I was afraid I couldn't live without that taste anymore.

And then, I would leave my work somewhere on the side that day, deeply buried in my thoughts and I would head with my assistant into that infinity. The drive would last for a few hours, and all the way I would continuously absorb the best of life.

When I entered my apartment that night, it was already past midnight. I quickly washed off my dust-covered skin and crawled into the warm baldahin bed. I had to save energy for tomorrow, it will be a long day.

And like colorful jewerly, such glorious days, made life.

And life was just like a desert.

Thousands of tiny grains represent our every decision, our every smile and every day of our life. And such merge into one boundless expanse.

My life was a desert in which I would be lost until one day I found my refuge, an oasis of peace.

And dunes...

Nothing quite like them.

Endless sandy landscapes and undulating dunes would spread before me, which my eyes would swallow and feed my soul.

For me, the desert is a magnificent phenomenon that would take my breath away, and hypnotize me the moment it came into view.

I would peacefully spend the best days of my youth deep in it, where my brain would become numb to all disturbing thoughts.

The desert is timeless.

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