Jasmine opened the door of the hut and ran forward until she saw that there was nowhere to run to. There were no streets, no roads, no buildings, and no one waiting for her on the other side of the door. The scene was empty, without any signs of life, as if she had been dropped in the middle of nowhere and left to die. Confused by the development, her determined sprint quickly slowed to a perplexed, meandering stagger.
In every direction, all she could see was desert.
The sand scorched her feet as she tried to make sense of things. She knew that she couldn’t continue walking much longer… at least not like this. Though the temperatures in the desert had dropped from the extremes of the summer, she would still need something to protect her feet. Now that she knew what she was facing, she needed to rethink her plan. Begrudgingly, she turned around and made her way back toward the relative safety of the simple hut.
Driven by curiosity, she paused only briefly at the doorway before walking around the corner of the building, enduring the scalding terrain under her feet for a few moments more as she investigated. Hoping that the rear of the structure would somehow offer some form of encouragement, what she saw had the exact opposite effect. Instead of salvation, she found faint tire tracks that led off into the distance.
She strained to see something on the horizon — anything that would signal civilization — but there was nothing to be found. No matter which direction she looked, the endless sea of sand stretched out in front of her. Under different circumstances, she would have found beauty in the unbroken vista of rolling dunes and piercing blue sky. But at that moment, she was struck by the horror of her predicament.
Jasmine didn’t like her options. The men who had taken her would surely return to the shelter at some point in time, and although they had kept her alive so far, she really didn’t want to be around to find out why they had abducted her. She knew she had the element of surprise on her side, but she doubted her ability to defend herself against a group of armed men. Besides, she had never taken a life. If it came to that, she wasn’t sure if she could bring herself to do it.
On the other hand, she was well aware of the desert’s ability to kill. It showed no mercy, especially to those who ventured into the void without the proper supplies: basics like water, sunscreen, and shoes. In her mind, they were all mandatory provisions to even consider such a journey, and yet after giving it some thought, the desert seemed to be a much better alternative than waiting for her abductors to return.
Who knew what they had in store for her?
Whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t good.
To protect her feet on her desperate journey, she tore the sleeves from her shirt and fashioned them into crude moccasins. She knew her arms would fry under the intense rays of the sun, but at least her soles wouldn’t blister. She could keep walking with sunburned shoulders; she couldn’t stand on seared feet.
With her makeshift shoes, Jasmine was ready to head off into the unknown. She reasoned that the tire tracks led toward the nearest settlement, but she also knew that following that route would increase the risk of meeting her kidnappers. As such, she opted for the opposite direction, hoping it would lead her into the trading routes of desert travelers. It was a calculated risk, but one she was willing to take.
Jasmine walked for what seemed like days, but it was actually only a single afternoon. The relentless sun robbed her of hydration and energy, but she never lost hope. Even as each step grew more and more difficult, she continued to press on.
She told herself that if she wore through her sleeves-turned-shoes, she could rip strips from her shirt. When those were reduced to tatters, she would tear cloth from her pants. She would cross the desert in her underwear if she had to, but she would not give up.
She assured herself of that.
As she glanced at the sun, she noted that it would soon dip low enough to touch the horizon. She didn’t know how long she had been walking, only that she had been traveling north the entire time. The setting sun to her left had told her that some time ago. Back then, she had hoped she might be able to reach the thoroughfares that ran along the coast if she did not encounter someone on her walk, but now she feared she would find neither. At its current rate of descent, she would only have the sun for another hour or so. Darkness would bring relief from the heat, but it would also signal the coming of a long, hard night in the open desert.
Even if she survived until dawn, she wasn’t sure she could do this for another day.
Not without food, water, or divine intervention.
Her spirit waning, she took a moment to survey her surroundings in hopes of finding shelter for the night. Instead, she found something better. There in the distance, outlined against the setting sun, were three men on camelback. Mustering her last reserves of strength, Jasmine screamed at the top of her lungs. When the trio stopped, she waved her hands wildly above her head, hoping that the erratic pattern would draw their attention.
A moment later, she watched as the three travelers turned their camels and began racing toward her. Assuming they weren’t figments of her imagination, they would reach her in a matter of minutes. And if they were real, Jasmine would be saved.
She was exhausted, but she had made it.
She dropped to her knees and wept.
The first man to reach Jasmine leaped from his camel and landed beside her with a soft thud. Without saying a word, he lifted her chin and pressed his canteen against her cracked lips. The liquid was gritty and brackish, but she swallowed without complaint.
She knew the water would save her life.
Once her thirst had been quenched, her savior pulled back the canteen and smiled. For a brief moment, Jasmine was struck by his teeth — or rather, the lack thereof. His mouth was almost completely empty.
‘Is good?’ he asked, hoping that she understood his English.
She nodded and smiled back. ‘Very good. Thank you.’
He smiled even wider. Then, for the benefit of the other riders, he spoke to them in their native language.
Jasmine listened intently, trying to decipher the sounds. After a few sentences, she was almost certain that he was speaking in a Berber language common throughout North Africa. She wasn’t fluent in the dialect, but she could understand and speak enough to join in the conversation. She knew they were wondering if she could be moved.
‘I’m okay,’ she offered in their native tongue. ‘I can walk.’
The others froze in surprise as their faces fell slack. Their response made it clear that they had never met an outsider who could understand their words. To them, it was as if she had somehow read their minds.
‘I can speak a little,’ she explained. ‘My name is Jasmine.’
The man beamed and pointed to his chest. ‘I speak, too,’ he replied in the same broken English he had used before. ‘I am Izri.’ He stood, then helped Jasmine to her feet. ‘You are lost?’
Jasmine shook her head. ‘No. I was taken.’
She repeated the phrase in Berber to ensure that she had made herself clear. The concerned look on their faces told her that they understood. ‘There is a house in the middle of the desert. I was held there.’
‘Who?’ Izri asked. ‘Who take you?’
‘I don’t know,’ she answered. ‘I never saw them. But they took me in Alexandria and brought me here.’
Izri’s eyes narrowed in confusion. ‘Why they bring you here?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t even know where “here” is.’
‘You are in the desert.’
Jasmine smiled at the obvious insight and cut right to the point. ‘I hate to trouble you, but can you take me to a phone? I need to call my friends. They must be worried sick.’
Izri smiled and nodded. ‘Yes,’ he said proudly. ‘We can take you tomorrow. But tonight, you must rest.’