Returning home

Three long, tiring days have gone by and I have remarkably been able to survive. Instead of getting off the subway at 5 am to go to work, I now start my day off waking up  then in search for more carob plants. So far that’s been the only food that has appealed to me. There aren’t many choices in these parks so I only eat the algarroba. Since this biome does not receive much rain I have slept on the dessert floor, clutching my paleontology tools. I have not located any water that I can drink so I try to reserve my energy when searching for food. I have checked my tool kit various times trying to find something in there that I could use, but I have found no use for them. After eating my carob I stare into the sample bag containing the small rock I found. I say to the rock “because of you I am stuck in the middle of no where”.

I haven’t came across any more serpents lately, but I have had to defend my carob from a grey fox. It didn’t scare me as much as the snake but when I first saw it come towards me I jumped a little. The fox backed up a few steps then pounced on me. In shock I grabbed my bag and tried to get up. It got half of my algarroba and nibbled on it fiercely as I left the scene. 

Life has been hard and I often get depressed until I find my catch of the day; the algarroba plant. Now I have fully adapted to its bitter taste. It is my essential life source. One day when I was eating my carob plant I opened my tool kit and took out my mini shovel. I used its’ side as a knife to cut up my meal into smaller pieces. I put it back into the compartment made for its’ size when another compartment was revealed. After I opened this pocket, a circular disk slipped out and hit the dessert floor with a light sound. I turned it over and a grin wiped my face clean of its’ sorrow. It was a compass! I had a compass all three days and had not even known it! I laid it on the ground with the impatience of a six year old at christmas. But the arrow didn’t move, I tried to level it, tilt it, and shake it until I gave up. I didn’t work the arrow must have been stuck or unbalanced. 

Angry, I thought of tossing it, but instead I clutched it and studied it. “Maybe I could fix it” I thought hopefully. Looking at the “N” standing for North gave me an idea. Then I looked at the horizon and got up slowly. I packed up my remaining algarroba and headed off. I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner; I guess I have been too overwhelmed to do so. All explorers fallow the rule: “the sun sets in West and rises in the East”. Bingo! I was on a role now, all I had to do was fallow the sun. 

Before dark I had reached, San Juan, the capital! I looked up at the sky. There were little clouds and the sky was crystal clear. Even as out of breath as I was, I gained all of my remaining energy to yell out my shout of pride. My dry voice echoed. I raised my arms as if I had just preformed an amazing stunt in a gymnastics competition. I ran up towards the town to the bus station I first left at. I asked for a taxi and the money I paid for the tour back. They didn’t understand my American speech but got me the taxi ride. I went straight to the airport and took the earliest flight home. On the plane ride some people gave me dirty looks when they smelled the odor I carried from my journey through the parks. I saw the stewardess walking through the isle and demanded water, hot coffee, chips, pretzels, and nuts, including the salted and non salted. She gave me a strange look but returned with everything I asked for.

Getting off the plane felt victorious. I had finally made it home! I was so excited to finally be back in New York and soon return to my work and regular life. I couldn’t wait to find out if the rock I had found was in fact a fossil. I couldn’t believe my coworkers had persuaded me to go on vacation! Why ruin a perfect record on 9 years just to get lost in the wilderness? 

I went to the luggage claim where my other belonging were forwarded from Argentina. As I got my large brown suitcase off the conveyer belt, I heard someone call my name. It was my coworkers welcoming me back home. Before they could ask how my vacation was, one blurted out “What happened to you?”

I slightly chuckled as I picked out a leaf from my hair and brushed dirt off my face. I replied “It’s a long story. Let’s just say ‘the more things change, the more they remain... insane'”.