Meanwhile, the red-shrouded man (whom I had been comfortably following so far) was now quite a bit ahead in the distance. Occasionally, he would turn around, to know if I was keeping pace or not…just to see if I was still there. Not being as far astray as he might have thought, I saw him turn past a group of shrubs in the distance.

When I finally caught up, and was able to round the shrubs myself, I was completely caught off guard by what I saw. Actually, I was floored: a pair of camels...one sitting and one standing right there in front of me.

Not since riding in sands somewhere around the Arabian Peninsula a few years ago had I seen such a thing. I mean, I don’t usually associate camels with rich, lush vegetation teaming with life. Nevertheless, here were these clean-as-a-whistle, saddle-tan camels…kneeling…inviting me to mount. What to do, what to do...and that’s when I noticed my warrior friend, who was right by my side, smiling as if to tell me that everything was fine. They were his camels. And, as surreal as it all seemed in the moment, I trustfully mounted.

Perched with a vantagepoint higher than I ever expected, I now felt like the queen of all I surveyed. With my eyes able to look down and clearly see my red-shrouded warrior, he took the reins forward as he remained on foot. Protecting me. Guiding me.

As we moved away from the river, the camels lead the way as I allowed my journey unfold naturally. After walking a while, we came upon another one of those red roads that ran though a scene of sheer magnificence. My camel and I turned down it like a slow moving vehicle of some sort. Where did it lead? The road itself was beautiful, romantic, and inviting. The golden color of the grass against a very late-in-the-day blue sky held beauty beyond my ability to convey. It was like a path to and from one time and another.

This beautiful place (along with various other unanticipated matters-of-present-circumstance) was, quite frankly, becoming a bit of a turn-on…and by now, the gentile, circular-swaying motions of the camel weren’t helping to settle my imagination down much. Quite the contrary, it was running wild and free.

As we moved off of my road and into the wild, my lips could almost touch the green leaves of the trees just above. I then closed my eyes to effortlessly remember my childhood fantasy...of living life as a giraffe. The scene that I used to dream of when I was a child slowly entered my mind again after all these years. With my eyes still closed, and a smile now slightly on my face, it was easier and more fun than ever to dream, like never before, that I was a giraffe…a giraffe living among the herd. And when my eyes finally reopened, what I saw kept me feeling calm, but excited me with childlike awe: there were giraffes suddenly appearing everywhere. ...slowly turning their heads to put their eyes in my direction...as if the giraffes were expecting me...waiting for me to return home to them...just like I used to imagine. I started to believe…that I was indeed a giraffe.

With the lush mountains contrasting evermore with the warm tones of the land, the sun was now starting to set. Several hours had passed leaving me feeling both like an intruder to this place and like a long-lost friend to this magical realm...where time had the ability to stand still.

Then…a jolt…a jolt back to my more familiar state-of-consciousness…as the we suddenly came to a stop. It was now getting darker outside and time to move on. The camel stood there for about a minute, and then lowered. Apparently, I was supposed to dismount…and I did. And quite soon thereafter, my warrior beckoned me forth to follow him in the way he was now accustomed to asking: with a smile. I followed close...

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)