He awoke near a lake, as he always had for the years of his life. He did not remember how he got there, only that it was not a long journey. Around him, there was grass and many trees bearing fruit. He had lived in this oasis for his whole life, and he had stayed alive there.

Around the oasis was a desert that seemed to him to be without end, and a sand storm raged constantly: never ceasing, always hungering for him. He knew not what was beyond the sand storm or whether it could be crossed, so he stayed in the oasis, where he was happy.

In the oasis were many trees, bearing fruit that was both pleasing to the eye and good for food. He ate his fill of this fruit and never hungered for anything else. There also was a small lake, large enough to swim in and clean enough to drink. In the grass of the oasis were many animals, mammals and lizards and scorpions, that also feasted on the fruit and drank from the lake. He would play with these animals, and they were his companions, and he never wanted for anything else.

One day, he looked out into the sandstorm, as he had many times, and speculated with himself on what could be out there. It was then that he thought he saw through the storm a faint glimmer of light. Squinting and peering out, he perceived what appeared to be a building, shining and made of metal and glass. Soon after the building was a city, all of it shining with metal and glass. "The residents of such a city," he thought, "must be very happy and wealthy to build a thing of such great beauty."

For the next several days, after his friends the animals had gone to sleep, he constructed himself a telescope and a protractor, and tried to calculate for himself the distance to the beautiful city. He figured a night's walk through the storm would take him there.

Still he pondered on leaving the life he had. He was happy in the oasis, with no worries and no enemies that could come to him through the storm and harm him. Even so he had now been one week seeing the city in the distance, and he much greatly desired to see what life was like there. Once he thought he beheld a beautiful woman eating on the streets, and much desired to be with her.

With that, he spent two days constructing a barrier and three a pack to carry supplies, with the intention of going through the storm to find the city. He filled his pack with food and tenting equipment, and on the fourteenth day since seeing the city he set off into the storm.

The storm was much stronger than it seemed. He held the barrier up against the wind to keep from being battered by the sand, and twice he stepped into sinking sand. After a night's crossing he made it through the storm, and he found the city.

Walking to one of the buildings, he reached to open the door, and his hand moved through it. Startled, he walked through the door into the building. He looked around and found himself inside a hollow shell. There was nothing inside. Forlorn, he walked to another building and walked straight through the wall. Nothing was inside this one either. He ran between the buildings, looking for the woman he had seen in his telescope. The city was empty.

Suddenly, as quickly as he had found it, he lost it. The city dissolved before his eyes, turning to sand and falling to the desert. It was a mirage.

Forlorn, he decided to walk back through the storm to the oasis. He picked up his barrier, and just as before held it against the wind to stop from being battered by the sand. Only the wind picked up, and tore from his hand the barrier, so that he was now exposed to the harsh winds. Rocks carried to his flesh bruised him, and he fell to his hands and knees. Trying to crawl through the sand, he continued blinded through the storm, and lamented for his foolishness and greed.

He crawled for a night, but could not again find the oasis. The wind was too thick and the sand flew into his eyes, so that he could not navigate through back to his home. Forlorn, he fell on his face and wept, with no beautiful city and a home he could not find.

Some recordings of his story end here, but few go on.

Full in his misery, he sat and wept. He was lost in the storm for two days, his food depleted and too tired to go on. Suddenly he saw a man walking through the storm, who was not made tired by the wind. The man walked to him, and placing a hand on his shoulder said "I know from where you came, and I know where it is. If you want, I can lead you there."

He reached out and touched the man, fearing that he might again be an illusion, another dream lost. But his hand touched flesh, the man's beard hairy against his finger, and his white robe soft on his arm.

Still more stories end here, but mine goes on to the end.

He said to the man, "I much wish to go home. If you can take me, and can navigate through the storm, I will follow you."

The man was true to his word, and he was brought by the man back to his home the oasis. He collapsed onto the ground, the grass a familiar feeling almost forgotten. He looked up and saw the man still standing with him. "Thank you," he said. "I owe you my life."

"I do this because I love you," the man replied. "And I do not wish to see you suffer. If you will continue to believe that I can, I will always help you should you lose your way again."

He, guided back by the man, was back in his home, with the fruit-bearing trees, and the lake, and his friends the animals. And he was happy.

And that is where the story truly ends. What happens after depends on what record you read. Some who do not end the story here say he saw yet another city, and was lost in the storm. Others say he lives in the oasis to this day. All I know is that the ending is happy, and that is all we could need to know.