Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
I was wrong, the desert didn’t end. Or maybe I just went into the wrong direction? I might just be walking in circles.
Either way, I’m back to walking on sand. By now, I really would prefer walking on sunshine. At least it would kill me instantly and I wouldn’t have to deal with this bullshit anymore.
Then again, can I actually die? The thing with the blue blood is still freaking me out a bit. I tested cutting myself a few more times, always with the same result. A blue liquid comes out, seals the wound and moments later it looks like I never hurt myself.
I wonder if I would have survived the sandstorm? Great healing abilities would have made the hole I dug kind of useless. Would have saved me a lot of work.
Somehow, I feel like I should be more concerned about the whole business. Something is clearly wrong with me, aside from my annoying amnesia. But with no way of finding out what’s going on, all that’s left is walking. And the hope to find a way out of the desert. Or at least another oasis. My water supply is constantly shrinking.
Despite my apparent superhuman blood, I still feel thirsty all the time. And dehydration is no joke, especially when you’re walking the whole time.
Another thing that’s not working at peak efficiency is my eyes. They hurt like hell from being constantly exposed to the very bright sunlight. The fact that the sand reflects a part of it doesn’t make it any better. I tried walking with my eyes closed for a while but only stumbled over my own feet.
I obviously don’t have superior balance or orientation skills.
As I squint at an imaginary destination, I see a flicker at the very edge of the horizon. A bluish shimmer that’s stretching out on the ground. Water? Is this seriously light hitting a large body of water? That’d be perfect!
But I can’t make out how far away it is. It seems to constantly change its size and it … moves? I shake my head. How is it supposed to move? I walk a bit further in the lake’s direction but then stop again. It’s moving with me, I’m sure.
This is no water. This is an optical illusion.
A mirage.
With a scream, I kick the sand. I’ve been fooled by what is probably a reflection of the sky. Bent light rays made an image of the sky appear in the ground, which fooled me into thinking I might be looking at water. Great.
In a way, I’m kind of pissed that it was only such a simple mirage. An everyday illusion. Deep down, I was hoping my first mirage would be a proper Fata Morgana, a complex mirage caused by the air at the bottom being colder than the one above. It’s relatively uncommon because usually, the opposite is the case.
But it would have been nice, you know?
Grumbling, I turn away from the mirage. I don’t want to hunt for an illusion and looking at it would just frustrate me even more. I choose a way slightly to the left of it, just far enough for it to vanish from my line of sight.
Maybe I should be thankful that it was an optical illusion and not a hallucination.
What is a mirage? How is it formed?
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