"What is this place?" Joel dragged his luggage behind him. He grunted and lifted it to his shoulders, feeling the sand falling from it.
His face was grim as he approached Nestly and Billy. They looked almost unrecognizable. They wore turbans and long robes with no inch of skin left uncovered except their faces. In comparison, Joel was wearing a polo with floral patterns, white shorts, paired with Adidas slides and sunglasses.
Nestly looked at Joel as though he were of a different type of species. At first, he was confused but then, his face contorted, trying to hold in his laughter.
However, in the next second, he threw his head back and laughed loudly until tears formed in the corners of his eyes.
Billy was the same. He was holding his stomach as he pointed at Joel, trying to say something. His words were drowned out by his laughter.
"Why... are you dressed like that?" Nestly looked away and covered his face, but his shoulders were still shaking.
"I thought we're going to the beach!"
Joel's face turned red from embarrassment. He kicked the sand, sending his slipper flying towards Nestly.
Nestly jumped to avoid it and ran away while giggling. Joel took his other slipper and threw it to Billy who sprinted out of his sight as though he was being chased by a dog.
"Why are we at the border of a desert? This is ridiculous! I knew I couldn't trust any of you!"
Joel's voice echoed across the vast expanse.
The three camels Nestly rented beforehand chewed on their food indifferently as they lingered in a shade from a ruined tower.
"I clearly said, we're going on a vacation. In a place with sands!" Nestly defended.
His body was turned to the side, jumping to different directions to dodge Joel's flying slippers.
"But, that's the beach!"
---
The camels left a trail of footprints on the dunes as they moved forward.
Both Nestly and Billy could feel death stares coming from the back. Joel was now dressed in appropriate clothes, yet he looked unhappy for some reason.
He thought longingly about the fine, white sands of the beach and the relaxing sound of waves crashing on the shore as he sat by a coconut tree, grilling meat and fish.
A gust of hot wind brought him back to reality.
With a sigh, he forced himself to accept the current situation.
Nestly was leading the group, holding a map on his left hand and the reins on the other.
The journey went on for hours. Billy never stopped talking the entire time, earning him a few slaps from Nestly.
"Reserve your energy. The dragon egg is still far from here."
Staring at the map for several seconds, he shifted his gaze and looked up, squinting his eyes as if he could see beyond the dunes. There was nothing noteworthy in this barren landscape. No landmarks or anything that would help them determine their location. How Nestly was able to navigate through the dunes remained a mystery to both Joel and Billy.
It's either he could see something they couldn't, or he was pretending to read the map when, in reality, he was only relying on luck and prayers.
Still, the three of them will stick together even when push comes to shove.
Sometime later, when the sun fell over the horizon and dyed the sky into shades of orange and pink, Nestly decided to set up their camp.
Joel was busy installing the tent. He hummed an upbeat tune as he tied the ropes tightly. Checking the zippers, he looked over his shoulder and saw Nestly and Billy, occupied with cooking their dinner.
YOU ARE READING
Why Fiction? (Short Stories Compilation)
Acak'Cause magic don't exist in real life.
