The sun is bright, beaming, smiling with a smugness of a truth unspoken. It illuminates the ground I walk, the desert I traverse. My boots pushing through the loose soil and sand. I sweat, marching forward.

I know not for how long I have walked. The sun has never set, so it was less than a day. I have always been here, walking. My goal is just ahead, I can see it on the horizon, shining.

The light beats me down; breaking through my shell. Every foot, every mile I shed another. My backpack, my over-coat, my shirt, my hat. I’m only met with more unbearable radiance. It’s blades cutting across my skin as I step. Pants, underwear, glasses. All removed, all laid bare.

I know not for how long I have walked. The sun still above—less than an hour. I have always been here, walking. My goal is just ahead, I can see it across the sands, shining.

My feet ache, but won’t stop. My socks are heavy with sweat and blood. I haven’t been walking long, yet my feet are wrought.

“I carry nothing but my boots!” I scream aloud.

“I walk endlessly!” I can see my destination incessantly on the edge.

“Sun will you let me be? Leave me rest for I carry nothing. For what worth is the journey if I bare no clothing?”

I walk with no socks. My boots tight against my rotten feet. Each step the sand pulls them back. Heavier is my gait, my cracking flesh sliding along another.

I know not for how long I have walked. The sun still above. I have always been here, walking. The land arid. There was never soil, only sand.

I abandon my water bottle for it carries no relief. It has run dry, no vitality left. How long have I walked?

My boots crack and rip. Sand pouring in. My limp, bearing the weight of the earth, slumps forward steadily. I abandon my boots.

The heat of the sand radiates deep into my feet. A warmth washed over every blister. Digging, exploring, penetrating. The pain sharp, yet I feel a relief within each wound.

Each tramp bites—Hungrily. Each shard of sand slicing it’s claim. I cannot stop walking, but I can’t keep going. For what is it worth now? Why should I continue when all I have is abandoned? I have walked, to experience what others have experienced before me. Did they suffer the same?

I know not for how long I have walked. The sun still above. Watching, silently.

The sand shifts with each act. Loose, unstable. My stride, inconsistent. Laborious. Clumsy. Hesitant. Each footfall carries the same resolution of pain.

Warmth, calm. When I stop my feet ease, the pain different. Each step disturbs.

Where is my destination? Everywhere I look, I see it gleaming in the horizon. A tear rolls down my cheek.

“How long must I walk!” I yelp.

I know not for how long I have walked. Hours? Days? Years? The sun never moves above.

“Sun, you bear down on me with hatred! I have sacrificed so much, yet you keep me out of reach. I am to die, abandoned and naked! Burned by your unrelenting scorn!”

A gentle breeze kisses my cheek. The cool touch skating along the path of my tear. Salt I smell. Crashing; faintly around.

My feet turn. The pain no longer sharp, but ever present. They throb with each lift. Cringe with each fall. I follow this breeze, but I no longer feel it. I don’t see the ocean, but I hear it. I smell it. I can taste it.

Like a hand on my back, I felt it again. Turning I follow into the direction it came from.

I know not for how long I have walked. The sun still above. The wind dancing. I stop.

“I’ve walked aimlessly. Wind, you bring me no reprieve. A temptress of my desire. Tease me hither and yonder. To meander alone!” I wince. My feet bleeding into the shifting sand.

“I am nothing but a joke to you. Sun, you gave me no peace. The observer of my folly. You’ve watched intently. Demand I walk exposed!” I flinch. My body burning, cracking.

I fall unto my knees.

“I refuse and go no further. I will no longer entertain for your amusement.” I weep.

My goal will remain unattained. I couldn’t carry myself through the demand. My worth no more than the blisters carved into my feet. The scorn etched across my body, carry into my flesh.

I can no longer see. It’s as though a storm rages in my eyes. Tropical rain, humid waters. My hands cover my shame as I weep from a depth unknown.

“I am a fool to have followed, for what is another’s is not mine. I have walked the wrong path, and my lesson will be my failure, my death.” coldly.

I pick myself up, skin cracked. The bleeding staunched by muddy grains embedded.

“If I am to die here, then I will fall by my own exhaustion. I won’t let my resolve be tormented by your gaze and allure.”

Each step the sand felt softer. Wind whipping from all directions. I kept forward.

I know not for how long I have walked. The sun is no longer above. The wind cooler, gentle.

Crashing was all I could hear. The taste of salt in the air as I am suddenly face to face with the ocean. I did not come upon it, it was always near. I collapsed, giving my body rest. The sun, warmly radiates as it dances with the mist of wind. The sky gold. The ocean painted with colors of the sky, sun, and sand; ebbs and flows.

I looked around. I know I have walked for a long time. I have always been here walking. Never looking. Never stopping.