In the Desert

I was out there in the middle of the dessert once when a dude came riding up to me. He carried a shot gun but seemed friendly enough, he must of been foreign, though, because he started making hand-signals. I could tell he wanted something to smoke, but all I had was a little bit of Peyote. He seemed quite desperate. I tried telling him it wasn't tobacco and that he probably wouldn't like it, but he didn't understand, so we both had a little. I was going to wait till the night came, but I thought I'd have some anyway. He smoked it all and said his goodbyes.

Then I started hearing the music and took my time going toward the hill. Then I heard the screaming and saw my old friend running toward me naked and jangling. He was speaking french and fire came from his mouth. I told him to jump in the lake. But there were none around so I poured some water on him, as it turned out though it was really vinegar (I'd been trying to ferment bread and sugar, but I got the recipe wrong, so I took to buying vingar and keeping it safe) the vinegar, though, didn't seem to help his condition. How was I supposed to know?

 It took some time for him to calm down. I lit a fire eventually and light some candles too. I wasn't hungry and the dude seemed to be pretty high. So I sat there waiting for...something while he shook on the ground. I put the horses blanket over him, but as it turns out he was burning and he didn't like that. So I dragged him away from the fire, but that made things worse for the both of us. So I decided to leave him alone and decided to not go back into the darkness for that's where things lurked and I was in no condition for lurking. The fire soon went out and we were left with only a couple of embers. The moon, though, had risen and set the landscape alight in silver.

 Usually at night I enjoy sleeping, but on that night the peyote interfered with it and that was frustrating. I could tell the morning would not be a good one, I was strung out already. My stoned friend had calmed down. Even if sleep did come I'd be afraid of that man and his thoughts. So I decided to pack up. It was a long trip ahead of me. The hunger arrived and I ate, I was not even tired and didn't think I ever would be. But there was no way I was getting on the horse. I knew the horse knew my thoughts and I knew his, and I could tell why he was a horse and why I was not. So I tied the dude to the horse and laughed while doing it. Then I left and laughed to myself, not realizing I might need the horse at a later time, but I knew I'd never have to sleep again, and because I had eaten I knew I could walk much faster and longer than a horse.