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I stand at the edge of the desert, wondering where to begin.
Many have heard of the Lost Dutchman Mine
But I am the only one to look for it.
Hot desert stretches out before me
With cacti sticking up like body hair on a giant.
Far in the distance, purple mountains rise up,
Reaching for the clouds,
Beckoning me to start.
Time has passed.
After reaching the canyons and mountains,
I search for days and feel discouraged.
Looking around, the mountains seem to be laughing at me.
They know I am hopelessly lost.
The only way to go is forward.
Looking down from a high cliff into a canyon
And then up
The big sky makes me feel exceptionally small.
I come across a forest of dry brush
As gray as a sad river rock.
Walking through it, thorns that are as sharp as nails
Reach out and tear flesh and cloth.
Stumbling out the other end of the thicket,
I stop cold in my tracks.
Walls of rock rise up, forming an alley way.
And at the end...
A mine with the sparkle of gold inside!
I've done it!
I've found the Lost Dutchman Mine!
Suddenly, an arrow whizzes past me
And sinks its sharp head in the tree trunk behind me.
Ducking behind a rock, I look up and see
Dozens of arrows head toward me like messengers of death.
Taking my gun and firing blindly
The arrow numbers decrease and then cease altogether.
Standing up and looking around, I scream
As somethng sharp sinks into my chest, bringing sharp, red pain.
Whoops of victory sound all around me.
"No," I think to myself as darkness envelopes me,
I'm so close..."
Standing at the edge of the desert,
I wonder where to begin.
I am the second to look for the Lost Dutchman Mine.
I think of the first man who went looking for it and never came back.
What happened?
Was it that he got lost?
Was he killed by Apaches?
Still pondering this, I take my first step into the unknown.