Story 12: A Night in the Desert

One night in the desert near Mecca, sleeplessness left me too weak to walk. I lay down and told the camel driver: leave me alone. How far can a poor traveler go on foot, when even the strong camel has broken down from strain? By the time a heavy body grows thin from hardship, a thin one will already be dead. He said: brother, the sanctuary lies ahead and bandits behind. If you keep moving, you win; if you sleep, you die. Sweet it is to sleep beneath the desert thorns on the road, the night of departure, but you must first say goodbye to your life.