The Isle of Gold

I had willingly joined the legions that dove into the unknown. The romance of this world stirs my soul; I cannot live in peace in lands already known. But when I awoke in the sand on that beach, I had lost everything, my every comfort and my every necessity. I had spent the previous week in that dying vessel, starving, sipping from a single canteen, drifting in the windless Sea, lost in her sinuous curves. I remembered spotting land for the first time since I had set forth, and I remembered struggling weakly to shore like a man at the end of a too-long race. And now I remembered waking up, with sand in my mouth.

I thought I should feel excitement now that I had solid ground once more beneath my feet. Here I was, beyond known lands, beyond the furthest reaches of knowledge, beyond civilization and beyond safetyâ€"where all the wonders of the world waited for my hands and for my eyes. And yet, all my dreams and visions were as dry as dust. I wanted one thing only, and it was the commonest thing in creation. I wanted a cup of water.