The air was thick and stifling over the barren ground, and not one breath of wind dared to disturb the heavy blanket of heat that smothered the earth. To the uninitiated, the land seemed lifeless and bleak, yet somewhere, something was alive and thriving. Stunted desert bushes dotted the alkaline dirt, sucking up any trace of water to cling to life, while prickly cacti thrust up from the burnt ground, their bristling coronas reaching up to the sun. Waves of electric heat danced over the horizon, creating a sense of intangibility, as if one could not grasp onto anything and believe it was really there. Rather, things would flicker in and out of view, sometimes visible, sometimes not. One could never know if these sights were real, and it was always safer to forget them hastily and move on.

Rusty red buttes and mesas rose sharply from the earth, their cracked sides bare and jagged, shaped by eons of wind and rain. In time, like everything else, they would fade into nothing. What was once a mighty river would be but a trickle, as was the wont of the earth. Likewise, the raging river that currently frothed through its banks, carving elaborate patterns into canyon walls, would eventually outgrow its boundaries and wreak havoc over its surroundings. The flinty rock walls of the canyon were no match for the eternal and powerful flow of mountain-fed rivers, rivers that seemed to boil with rage and might. For all the destruction they cause, however, they also spawned an abundance of life, for on the banks of the churning river grew thick, leafy plants. The crisp waters invigorated vegetation and harbored a unique ecosystem of plant life. Thin, wispy trees shot up into the stiff air, and tufts of grass blanketed the muddy ground. In all these things were life, and as out of place as they were in the desert, they had proved themselves worthy.

Where there is life, there will certainly be death, and the desert is one of the few places that seems to welcome more of the latter than the former. Bleached by the unrelenting sun, bones dot the desert floor like spilled rice. The lack of water and other life-sustaining goods contributes to the death of those that attempt to survive in such a naturally hostile environment. Few things are engineered to burn by day, freeze by night, and drink only every few days, yet somewhere in the vast expanse, something was alive and well.

He traveled by night, the bone white moon lighting the way as he traversed rocky expanses and powdery, washed-out river bottoms. As he moved, not a rock or pebble was disturbed, not a grain of sand misplaced. He traveled swiftly, cutting like a scythe through the thick night air, each stride propelling him faster. He leapt a gully, pulling his legs close to his body as he cleared the wide cut in the earth. Upon landing, his doubled his pace so that he was no more than a blur across the horizon as he streaked over the rough desert floor. He mounted a rise just as the first morning rays was cutting though the dark of night, and in a flash of unnatural light, he was gone.

Most people deny he even exists; however, there are a select few who steadfastly proclaim he is real. Either way, his existence is neither tangible nor improvable;  sometimes he is visible, streaking over a ridge, plain as daylight itself, and then he is gone.

He carries many labels – phenomenon, illusion, mirage – and most are content to accept these explanations. Still, there are those who take it as their duty to prove that he is in fact real, made of flesh, bone, and hide. Whatever he is, he is elusive, and is rarely seen by day, if ever.

Whether or not he is real is debatable; however, there is something there, something in that flicking ebony tail, flying hooves, and gleaming eyes. His sheer speed is unrivaled, and his endurance is bottomless. He runs as if he is the wind, sweeping down from the sky and breathing its hot breath over the desert sands, touching nothing yet affecting everything. When he comes, a tangible electricity fills the air, and his presence seems to be a vibrating, invisible force.