November, 2001
Stranded
There I was in the middle of the Sahara Desert, all alone. This morning I decided to go exploring and had packed enough food and water for about two days, but I'm still stuck out here.
I'm in a very difficult situation. My mom and dad think I'm at a friend's house, so they probably won't start looking for me until tomorrow. Maybe I can find a place to camp, because I might be out here for a while.
As I walked, I spotted a cave-like dent in a rocky wall. Perfect! I thought. I went inside. I didn't come perfectly prepared, but I did bring 1 flashlight, food and water, and a magnifying glass. The sun is setting. That means that it's probably around 6 p.m. or so. I took out the magnifying glass, a can of soup, and some plants I gathered. I set the plants in a pile and tilted the magnifying glass so that the sun was reflecting on them. After a while, the plants started to smoke. When they were burning well, I decided to look for a bowl.
Since I didn't want to get lost, I stayed near camp. I found a rocky area. I wonder if there's something over there I can use? Sure enough, I found a rock that was shaped a lot like a bowl.
When I returned to camp, I put the bowl over the fire and poured in the soup. As soon as it got hot, I took the bowl off very carefully so I wouldn't burn myself, and ate. After I finished, I stretched out to go to bed. This is where you come in. There I was, all alone in the Sahara Desert. It's been 2 days since I first came out here. I'm very short on my food supply, because I only have 1 canteen of water and 1/2 a can of food. What I didn't know was that my parents had been worried sick. "Where could she be?" asked Mom. "I think she went in the desert," said Alex, my little brother. "It's worth a try," said Dad. "All search parties report to desert," Dad said on the walkie-talkie. Dad had a police force on the case, and used a walkie-talkie to communicate with them. When Mom, Dad, and little Alex arrived at the desert, the police were waiting.
"Don't worry, we'll find her," said an officer.
Back at camp, I was starving. I had used up the last of my food and water and was sufferenig from dhydration. "What's over there?" I heard a voice, "Let's go check it out." I could faintly see a blue figure coming toward me. "It's here!" I saw 4 more rush over. Now they were standing next to me. "How long have you been here?" Asked one officer. I tried to talk, but it hurt my throat too much. I held up 3 fingers instead.
"3 days! Come on let's go." I was helped to the car, and we drove back to where Mom and Dad were waiting with Alex.
Mom and Dad were hugging me, and Alex just stood there as if non of this was a big deal.
After we got home, I drank some water. I was grounded, but only for 1 day. "Next time, I'll listen to your rules." I told Mom and Dad. They just smiled.
by Samantha
A-6