Sisyphus Reborn

The Desert

The Desert

   The hot desert landscape slowly came into view as my eyes adjusted to the brightness that blinded me. It was calm. Calmer than I would have expected. Nothing but the waves of heat distorted the atmosphere. I looked around and saw tall thick petrified grass near the cave that I emerged from. Soon I began walking, not knowing to where, but I walked. Every once and a while I would pass a tree. Not a typical tree, these had no leaves, looked dry, and yet, they felt alive. These trees were different. As I walked I began to think this was the only life here in this baron desert until a figure began to come into view. It appeared to be another person. Despite seeing this I felt no sense of joy, urgency, happiness, sadness, nothing. I calmly walked up to the person. They were digging in the sand with a shovel that appeared to made of random materials.
"Who are you?" I asked calmly.
"I am me." The person responded making no acknowledgement I was hear other than his response. He only kept digging.
"That doesn't help me at all, can't you be more specific?"
"I am me."
"Very well...Where are we?"
"We are here."
"But, what is this place?"
"This is the place where we dig."
"Why do you dig?"
"We dig to live."
"What?"
"We dig to live."
"Why?"
"Because we live to dig."
I sighed and looked behind the person and noticed someone else digging. Seeing that this person wasn't being much help, I left and walked to the next person. "Why was he digging?" I pondered lightly. Although this question rose in my mind, I just wanted to find out where the hell I was. I walked up to the next person.
"I can't get a straight answer out of that person over there. Can you tell me what is going on here?" I said to the digger. Again, I was met with a monotone response without any acknowledgment that I was present.
"I can not help you. you will need to ask someone else."
"Please, I just need to know where I am. What is this place?"
"I can not help you. you will need to ask someone else."
"Can you say anything else?"
"I can not help you. you will need to ask someone else."
Why were these people acting like this? I was too confused to be frustrated. I left the person to their bidding or in this case, digging. I walked further, and soon I was faced with someone else digging. Next to the person was a pile of rocks, all of them seemed to be relatively flat. Are they digging for these rocks? I decided to give this person a try just hoping for some helpful answers from one of these people.
"Where am I?" I asked and not surprisingly, and just like the others, he responded in a monotone voice.
"You are here."
"Where is here?"
"Here is where you are."
"What are you doing?"
"We are digging."
"Why are you digging?"
"We dig to make mountains."
"Why do you make mountains?"
"We make mountains to fill in the holes."
I looked around and noticed the mountains of sand. I guess I didn't notice them until now. Strangely, they appeared to maintain their shape well. These mounds of sand seemed almost sculpted. Then again, ever since I arrived here I've felt no breeze, no wind, nothing. Just a bland bright atmosphere of sand and sun, with the only life being these diggers and even they appeared to be dead. I walked away from the person and noticed a hole in the ground. It wasn't like the other holes the people were digging, this one was deeper, way deeper. Looking down inside I thought I saw something down there but, at a second glance I just brushed it off and walked away. Then, on top of a small hill up ahead there was a person who wasn't digging. Well they had a shovel but didn't appear to be like the others. The person stood there by a hole, maybe taking a break? Well that thought was short-lived because as I approached, the person went right back to digging. I sighed but asked him the usual questions anyway.
"I don't suppose you can tell me anything about this place?"
"I can tell you about digging." Responded the person.
"Very well, please tell me about digging."
"We dig to live."
"Why live?"
"We live to dig."
"I see. Is there anyone who might know about anything besides digging?"
"Digging is all we know. You may try asking the pyramid."  
"Pyramid? You mean the mound of sand of behind you?"
"No. There is a shining pyramid in the desert. I've asked it questions and always received the same answer. I don't understand the answer but it makes me feel calm."
"I suppose I will seek out this shining pyramid then." I paused and thought.
"How do I find it?"
"Travel through the desert and walk over the hill with the lone tree."
I looked over and saw the hill with the tree in the distance. With a sigh of relief I walked towards, what I assumed was the answer to my questions. I would have thanked the digger but, at that time, my only priority was answers. I knew, an answer could be found.

To Be Continued....