Thirsty, starving and famished, our small clan of three staggered ten miles to each stop. We then

It had looked so far away it was hard to believe I would be on top of it in a few days. Besides in the campsites, we only saw one other group of people during the entire 12 day trek and the only human sounds were our own. Each camp was an island of civilization in a great sea of wilderness, and a wonderful solace to end the day’s hike.

This morning we set out from camp early. The plan is to travel up the Missouri River from our St. Louis-area camp. Lewis and I are excited to finally start this expedition, from which we've been preparing for since Fall of 1803. Today on our way up the Missouri River we had been walking for quite some time now, then suddenly we noticed something wrong. There was a leak in our supply canoe! Our canoe with all the supplies and it was taking on water and fast. Sadly, we noticed it a little too late and almost all her supplies except for a few were ruined. But now we had a bigger problem to worry about. 59 people came along with Lewis and I to help on our expedition, and now we had basically no supplies. Another problem along with that

The hot, arid air burned into my soul as millions of needles pricked my delicate skin. Beads of sweat coursed down my face as I turned towards the window facing the barren desert surrounding me. My family and I were on an ever sought vacation to the Grand Canyon, yet we had to drive from New York to Arizona and I radiated impatience throughout the journey. Walls of heat shrouded me as I gasped for air, yet my efforts were fruitless, swallowing nothing but fire. As my lungs collapsed, I looked out the window and into the heart of the looming sun, taunting me from afar. Suddenly, my eyes gave out and sweat and tears engulfed them till they took their true form. A forest blanketed with soft and gleaming snow, blemished by the phrase: “Only 10 more minutes.” However, I was awakened from my revery by a vehement cry as I gazed into the eyes of tattered vultures, of every discrepancy, with an unforgettably shrill voice. “Who dares enter our land!” they screeched dissonantly. Trembling, my eyes flashed over the sun and I was standing in a perpetual desert, with vulture's eyes glued to me. I froze with fear, though the sun baked my skin.

As I sat on top of Schaefer's Pass in the pouring rain the only thing going through my mind was “Oh God, I’m going to die!”. The day had started off really well. With only two more days left on our trek I was gleefully thinking about re-entering civilization. The storm arrived with little to no warning as reached the top. Dark clouds quickly approached and a downpour of rain hit our group. Hiding underneath some trees we patiently waited for the storm to pass. Little did we know that this was no normal rain shower. When the first bolt of lightning hit the mountain it sounded like a bomb had gone off. The ground shook and I was blinded by a flash of blue. For the next hour we were pounded with torrential rain and hail and shook by the constant strikes of lightening. “What have I gotten myself into”, I thought as I sat shivering in my soaking wet clothes.

I fell into the depths of Maya’s beautiful green eyes and not even the currently setting sun could compare to their beauty. She pressed once more against the rusted iron gate that separated us, pushed it closed and once again took away my opportunity of joining my family, and let a pained cry of sadness escape her lips before turning into the shadows and dissolving into the darkness. Then the scene carried on as it had before as if Maya had been only an apparition. The crickets resumed their songs and when the frogs in the nearby creek began the harmony, I knew I was alone. The loneliness crept upon me like the cold of a moonless night. I stood and retraced the steps I had already taken earlier, that then had seemed to be nothing but magical when they led me to my wife, but now as they led me passed the unknown dilapidated shack that served as a safe haven for my wife and I and along the overgrown dirt roads of Eucalyptus, my steps seemed to lead me to my death.

We thanked her, and I made my way to my parents. "You knew about this?" I asked.

The whispers of the figures in the candle lit room quickly disappeared, as did everything else. When Samuel opened his eyes, he only saw the cloudy sky being disfigured by neon blues running around him frantically. He felt a burning inside, and his skin felt as dry as a desert. The wind passed through him as if he were a ghost, and the clouds began to look like other worldly beings that wished to take him as a trophy. He felt the wind, his dry skin, and the flaming feel of his body that made him want to scream-- he couldn't. He thought he might die, he thought his small body would burn up before he ever landed-- but he couldn't get his mouth opened one bit. Samuel continued to fall, he felt the ground coming closer and closer to his frozen body. He closed his eyes, wanting to wake up from the terrible dream he thought he was experiencing. When his eyes opened, he saw a clear yellow sky; large, violet trees surrounding him; and the tall, pink grass he layed in. "Ow..." he managed to mutter, unable to move as if his body had turned to stone. He attempted to turn over but found himself to be

The rain forced off its vertical path by the breeze gently bit onto his face. He now had two whole days to himself before he was due back at work. Walking into the rain he really hoped the bus was on time tonight, if it was he could be home in less than an

I somehow end up fifteen feet up in a broken fire escape in the alleyway. It’s out of sight and out of reach. The storm still roars above my head. It’s probably going to rain again. I hope it does. I love the smell of fresh rain. It makes me feel clean whenever it rains. I wish the rain could cleanse the entire world and make all the bad, filthy things go away, but it can’t. People have to do that and that takes time and sacrifice.

I opened my eyes to the sight of towering trees which kissed the sky, yet I could not hear a sound. Glancing at my surroundings, I noticed a glowing walkway on the mossy forest floor. In hopes of discovering something, I followed the path, which eventually lead to a large waterfall with rapid white waters crashing down below. I walked near the edge of the cliff and looked down. Water tumbled down from where I was standing more than 10 meters, yet the path continued past the waterfall. My heart felt like it will beat out of my body. I had to find a safe way to get down.

“Yeah,” she replied, “I’m fine, could you help me back up though?” she asked me. I helped her back up so she could continue her surf. I could feel the music flowing through me and I could also feel the vibrations from the speakers and from the crowd moving. Before it was over we were both drenched in sweat, we couldn’t tell how much was ours or were from other people. “Let's get out of here and go cool off for a bit.” my uncle told me. we moved to the outer right where we could still see the stage, but were out of the pack until the set was over and we left to see other

He was fearful at first, walking across the desert in the dark for an hour with the Coyote who had taken over from the first one. “Later I relaxed and I felt that I won. When I crossed the border, walked for an hour and got to the place, I won. Then, when I got in the car with my friends at an abandoned farmhouse and some people did not get a car, I won.” He smiled broadly as he explained that there was room for only three per car in addition to the driver. The rear seat had been removed and all migrants had to lie flat across the width. His making it that far felt like a series of small victories and filled him with excitement and anticipation.

We were approaching the border, to me it looked like a big prison, it had 4-meter-high walls with barbed wire at the top. I spotted 20 figures that looked like soldiers, my body was shaking with fear. As we got closer I recognized the distinctive Syrian uniform that the men were wearing, helmets covered their heads, and they

“It was painful, cold, we were hungry, and thirsty.” My father said to me. I can’t ever imagine what it’s like to cross a desert by foot, and swim across an arm of the sea. My older brother was two years old when they crossed, my mother was 5 months pregnant, with me, and my father was the “head runner”.

And suddenly, I was there… alone, in the middle of a serene ocean. The last thing I remember was me, leaving a foreign country which I still don’t know the name. I was in a rectangular and modest boat and the water seemed molten silver before my eyes, so infinite, and I felt so small… I could notice the reflection of the sun flaming, burning my pupils. The tide began to turn tanned and I felt immune and indifferent to the world, the water could swallow me but I was fine with the idea… The sea’s flow was taking me to somewhere, and I couldn’t find out where. It was tedious for me to travel, I was always afraid of the sea, of being in the middle of nothing but at that moment all I felt was curiosity; the fear had forgotten my face. I