The bandit in the oasis....

He was walking alone in the vast desert. He had refused to kill the little girl while looting the caravan and had to pay for it. He was beaten and left for dead in the middle of the desert. But after gaining his senses back he stood up. He was not a bandit now. He was a soldier, a soldier fighting for his own life. He kept on walking.

He had been walking since long. His eyes were desperately searching for water. No sign. The sun was getting hotter as the noon approached and he had no idea where he was. His eyes were burning and his mouth was dry, his throat was scorching with thirst. He tried to swallow his thick saliva in order to relieve that burning. He looked up at the sky. It was bright with a hot sun shining but it would get hotter. He needed to find water. He shifted his rifle from right shoulder to the left and kept on walking.  

His eyes were searching the vast emptiness when he saw that. He couldn’t believe it. It was an oasis in the middle of the desert. He thought his mind has started playing tricks on him. ‘Is it a mirage? But I am going to die anyway.’ He thought. He gathered all his strength and ran towards that oasis.

He reached to find out that it was not a mirage, it was for real. He entered the oasis to find out a beautiful garden with a fountain of fresh water. He leapt towards the fountain and quenched his thirst. He had never drank this much water in his life. His senses started getting clearer. He saw rabbits hopping around on the velvety green grass of the garden. Doves of pure white color sitting on tree branches there were parrots of different colors too. He took a deep breath and the smell of the different color roses filled his nose. He looked around. There were roses of almost all colors. He had never seen a green colored rose but it was there. He noticed that all the trees were laden with fruits. Banana, apple, orange, grapes, mango, water melon and every other fruit he could think of. But he noticed one thing, every tree was similar. Same leaves, same height, only the fruits differed. He was hungry so he plucked fruits, one of each kind. He had never eaten better fruits in his life. After a satisfying meal of fruits he lied down on the green grass. The doves flew from tree branches and gathered around him. He closed his eyes, he was in bliss. And then one of the dove pecked him in the arm.

His delirium broke. Five vultures were sitting around his body and one of them had a big chunk of flesh from his right arm in its beak. His other hand held his rifle tightly and with one quick movement the vulture eating his arm was torn apart by the flash arising from the rifle. The others flew away. He pulled out flesh from the beak of the vulture and tied it in his cloth unsure of what he would do with it. He got up again. He had to find water and if he survived then he would find the other vultures, not the ones that flew away but the ones who scavenge on money and lives of people. He was not a bandit any more. He was a soldier, a soldier who fought for lives of other people.