Water Man

Water Wallace is here

38-year-old Wallace Basie was struggling to walk in the Libyan Desert which seemed never-ending to him. Wearing a white t-shirt and dark blue jogging pants, he tried to muster what little strength he had in his body to keep going until he saw a city or a river.

Wallace’s mind started believing that his attempt to find help was futile.

He stopped walking and slowly fell to the ground lost in despair about his situation. He couldn’t believe this was how his life journey was going to end, dying in the Libyan Desert surrounded by sand and heat.

Layla and her friend, Dendera rode their camels towards Wallace’s way. Layla and Dendera (Both in their late 20s) wore head scarves along with their blue jeans and white sneakers.

Layla was enjoying the adventure of riding in the desert, while Dendera was on her phone checking out her Instagram page.

‘’Um, I think we should head back now. There’s nothing out here and it’s hot.’’, Dendera said.

‘’Just a few more minutes, okay. If we don’t see anything, we’ll head back.’’, Layla said.

‘’All right. A few more minutes and nothing more. Knowing you, you’ll have us out here all afternoon.’’, said Dendera.

Layla and Dendera continued riding in the brown desert. After two minutes of riding, Layla noticed something ahead that looked like a body.

‘’Den, you see that?’’

‘’See what?’’

‘’That, ahead’’

‘’Oh, yeah. I see it now. It’s probably a dead animal.’’

‘’No, Den, it looks like a human body.’’

The two kept riding towards Wallace’s body.

‘’Oh, God. It is a body!’’, Dendera said.

Both of their camels started singing while Layla got closer to Wallace to see if there were any signs of life in him.

‘’Layla, what are you doing? He could be a murderer.’’

‘’ Den, hush.’’, Layla said as she looked at Wallace.

She saw a heart beating. She slowly turned Wallace around as much as possible.

‘’Den, give me a bottle of water.’’, demanded Layla.

Dendera found a bottle of water in her bookbag, got off her camel, and headed towards Layla.

‘’Here. He’s not dead, is he?’’

‘’I don’t think so.’’

Layla grabbed the water bottle, opened it, and poured it slowly towards Wallace’s lips.

‘’Here…drink.’’, said Layla.

Wallace’s mouth felt the cold brisk of the water. His mouth slowly opened, letting the water go through his body. His body started coming to life again. His body movement startled Layla and Dendera.

His roar startled them even more.

‘’Whew, that is some good water!’’, he said.

‘’Thank you. Thank you so much. It’s nothing like good cold water to make you rise.’’, Wallace said.

‘’Yeah.’’, both Layla and Dendera said.

‘’I’m Layla, and this is Dendera.’’

‘’Hi, Layla. Hi, Dendera, I’m Wallace. Wallace Basie.’’

‘’Good to meet you, Wallace.’’

‘’Likewise.’’

‘’Is there a city or town nearby?’’, Wallace asked.

‘’Oh yes, there’s Egypt.’’

‘’Egypt? The…Egypt?’’

‘’Yep. But hearing your voice, you must be an American.’’, said Layla.

‘’You’re so right. You have a good hearing, Layla.’’

‘’I try.’’, Layla responded and smiled at Wallace’s compliment.

‘’I’ve always wanted to see Egypt ever since I was a little kid.’’

‘’Well, you’re in luck. It’s thirty minutes away from here.’’

‘’No kidding! How do you get to Egypt?’’

‘’You just keep straight to the north and you’ll run into it.’’,

‘’Thank you so much. I appreciate the directions and the water.’’

Of course. Do…you want to come with us?’’, Layla asked.

Dendera hit Layla’s shoulder and gave her a ‘’Are you serious’’ look. Layla gave Dendera a ‘’Get it together’’ look.

‘’Sure, if it’s not too much trouble.’’, Wallace said.

‘’No, not at all. You can ride with me back to Egypt.’’, said Layla.

‘’Sounds good to me.’’, said Wallace.

‘’Well, come on, unless you like being out here in this heat!’’, Layla yelled.

‘’You don’t have to tell me twice.’’, Wallace said and walked behind Layla on her camel. Dendera went back to her camel.

‘’Man, these camels are taller in real life.’’

‘’Yeah, they can be tough to get on at first, until you get used to them.’’

Wallace felt like he was climbing a tree and getting on Layla’s camel. He tried to get as comfortable as he could before Layla commanded her camel to take off.

‘’Here, here’s a scarf for your head.’’, Layla said.

The color of the scarf was purple. Wallace was hesitant to put it over his head.

‘’Sorry, it’s the only color I have.’’, Layla said and chuckled.

‘’Alright, I’ll take it.’’, Wallace said reluctantly.

The three took off to Egypt. Dendera was on her phone again while riding with little vision of her surroundings.

‘’So, what led you out here?’’, Layla asked while keeping her eyes on the scene that was in front of her.

‘’I…didn’t get back to my tour group on time.’’, Wallace answered.

Wallace’s face turned to anger thinking about how he was out in the desert. An image of six vehicles surrounding him with weapons took over his mind.

‘’So what do you want to do with him, boss?’’, an armed soldier asked.

‘’I say we kill him.’’, said a skinny soldier.

‘’No, we’ll let the desert kill him.’’, said Amon, who was the leader of the group.

‘’Do you think you’re going to get away with this?’’, Wallace asked with some fear in his voice.

‘’Um, yeah, I do.’’, answered Amon.

‘’You’re going to pay for this, Amon.’’

‘’I think not. You see, Wally, you’re not needed anymore. I appreciate you helping my people. But, we can take it from here now. Now, have fun in the desert, ya hear?’’, Amon said.

Amon and his men laughed at Wallace and took off into the desert in their advanced vehicles. Wallace looked around and couldn’t believe where he was. He was in a land that was unfamiliar to him.

‘’Lesson learned.’’, said Wallace.

‘’Yeah, you got to be careful out here. It can be easy to get lost.’’, said Layla.

‘’You’re right. So, are you two from Egypt?’’

‘’Yep, both and raised.’’

‘’Lucky.’’

‘’Not always. But it could always be worse.’’, Layla said and laughed.

‘’And you? Where are you from?’’, Layla asked Wallace.

‘’Nightville, New Jersey.’’

‘’Ah, so you are an American?’’

‘’Yes ma’am.’’

Both Wallace and Layla laughed while riding through the desert.

‘’Hey, keep it down over there. I’m watching an Instagram video.’’, Dendera said.

‘’Sorry, Den. We’ll talk like this.’’, Layla said in a silent voice.

She and Wallace laughed even harder. The journey to Egypt felt short to Wallace thanks to the conversation he and Layla were having. His first view of Egypt had him believe he was in heaven. They were almost there.

While looking to the right, Wallace saw a beautiful blue lake nearby.

‘’Is that a lake over there?’’, Wallace asked.

‘’Yep, it sure is.’’, Layla answered.

‘’I’ll be back in a few minutes.’’

Wallace used the water energy he had to jump off Layla’s camel and run like a track star over to the lake. Wallace jumped into the lake and let the water feed his entire body.

His eyes turned blue and enjoyed the empowering feeling he felt, letting the water recharge him into the superhero he is.

‘’Wow, he’s fast.’’, Dendera said.

‘’I’ll say.’’, Layla replied with glee.

‘’Come on, let’s go over there to him so he doesn’t get lost again.’’, said Layla.

‘’Ugh, okay.’’, said Dendera.

Before they proceeded to catch up to Wallace, a group of black vehicles pulled up on them, causing them to remain where they were. Amon and his men came out of all the vehicles and looked at Layla and Dendera. Amon and his scary shades walked toward Layla.

‘’Now what are two nice-looking women doing out in this desert?’’, Amon asked.

‘’It’s a beautiful day to enjoy the sun.’’, Layla answered.

‘’I agree. I agree very much. How about instead of riding these bust-down camels, you let me give you a ride to wherever you headed to.’’, Amon said.

‘’Nah, we’re good. We’re almost to our destination.’’, Dendera said nervously.

‘’Now, let’s try this again. I don’t want my men to create some… art out here, so why don’t you two be good girls and let me give you two a good ride.’’, Amon said bluntly.

Layla’s anger was boiling within while Dendera was started to be fearful for her life. The two women slowly made their way towards Amon.

‘’Oh yeah, I’m going to take real good care of you two, especially you.’’, Amon said while looking at Layla.

‘’Go to hell.’’, Layla blurted out at Amon.

Amon gave Layla a hard slap to her face.

‘’Hey! Don’t you hit my sister!’’, yelled Dendera.

‘’Shut up!’’, the soldier nearby Dendera yelled out.

‘’Ooh, a feisty woman, I like that. I’m going to have a lot of fun with you.’’, Amon said while pulling his pistol out and aiming it at Layla.

‘’Get in.’’, said a furious Amon.

Layla and Dendera slowly made their way to Amon’s ride.

A burst of water came out of nowhere and pushed a soldier far away into the desert while the soldier yelled for his life.

‘’What was that?’’, another soldier asked.

Two strong blasts of water grabbed two more men and lifted them in the air, before letting them fall to their deaths by the hard ground.

‘’Where did that come from?’’, a frightened soldier yelled.

That soldier felt a blast of water knocking him to the ground and drowning him to death.

Amon was nervous and looked around to see where these water blasts were coming from. He finally saw someone coming his way. It was Wallace in his unique black superhero outfit. His hair was looking vibrant again.

Wallace kept attacking the other soldiers and the vehicles around them with his superpowers, eventually only leaving Amon standing.

Amon nervously grabbed Layla and put a gun to her head. Dendera wanted to charge at Amon but didn’t want to risk her friend getting shot.

‘’You come forward, I’ll end her’’, said Amon.

‘’Let her go. It’s just you now.’’, said Dendera.

‘’You had one assignment, Wallace! To die! You just couldn’t do it, could you? You had to live and be a good trooper just like your superhero friends taught you to be.’’

Wallace got just close enough to not risk Layla’s life.

‘’I told you I was coming for you.’’

‘’It doesn’t matter. You take one more step, and this pretty thing goes bye-bye. Ah, Wallace, always the optimist. Always trying to do the right thing. But you’re just like me, a man without a country.’’

‘’I could never be you, Amon. I’m not trying to have my way with other people all the time.’’

While the two men were talking, a little water rose from the ground under Amon’s feet.

‘’See, Wallace, that’s what makes you seen as weak in modern society. One day, you’ll get it, when you have a grey-white beard.’’, Amon said.

A big wave of water lifted Amon to the sky while knocking Layla to the ground. Wallace slammed Amon into the ground and repeated this pattern eight times until he felt satisfied. The third slam had killed Amon.

Wallace and Dendera had run to Layla — hoping that she was okay.

‘’You alright?’’, Wallace asked.

‘’Yeah, I’m okay. I’m so glad you came back.’’, Layla said.

‘’I’m glad as well.’’, Wallace replied.

‘’This man is the reason why I was stranded out here in the desert. He and his goons were very bad men. I just wish I had known earlier.’’, Wallace said with regret in his voice.

‘’Hey, it’s okay. We all meet people who we think are one way and we find out they’re the opposite of what they show.’’, Layla said.

‘’Your friend is wise, Dendera.’’, Wallace said with a smile.

‘’Tell me about it. She’s too wise sometimes.’’, Dendera said.

‘’Who are you?’’, Dendera asked.

‘’I’m…Water Man. It’s a long story.’’

‘’Well, we still have plenty of time before we arrive in Egypt, Water Man.’’, Layla said with a smile.

The three got back on their camels and kept straight towards Egypt.