I live in a desert. Well, it used to be a desert. Now, it’s just malls, houses, apartments, restaurants, shops—only dusty windows are left as a sign of the desert. I wasn’t alive when it was turned into a bustling1 city. When I came here, it was a city rich with oil and dusty windows. When I leave, it will probably still be a city rich with dusty windows. No one really feels the loss of the desert. We go there on field trips, though students usually prefer amusement parks.2 Yes, there is still a desert beyond the fringes3 of the city, but it’s disappearing. And nobody really cares.
I dream of getting lost in a desert. I dream of seeing only sand dunes, hazed by dusty winds, blurred by watering eyes.4 In class, when the teacher is droning on and on about something, I see the walls around me collapsing, the dusty windows falling into the sand with a thump.5
In my dream, the sun is everywhere; the only shade is beneath dancing sand dunes. Footprints disappear as soon as I sink them into the desert. I walk and walk, and when I am tired, I ride my camel.
I experience living through a sandstorm, with parched throat and dry tongue.6 Just stopping, shutting my eyes, feeling the sand whirl7 around me, my own insignificance echoes louder than the wind! And when the sandstorm settles down, I open my eyes to a different place. Everything has moved. A path that was once clear is now altered.
I dream of not knowing where to go or what to do, and of not being able to cry because my tears have dried. I dream of sleeping under stars that haven’t been outshone8 by city lights, and looking at a moon, and wondering what to do in the morning, with only the sun to guide me, praying that I may make it to a camp.
I dream of all of this. But will it happen? No. Will anyone save a desert when there is a dying rainforest? No. Nobody. Never. I shall remain lost in a city forever, and only dream and wish and imagine. The facts stare me straight in the face9 as I look out at the city through dusty windows.
单词卡片
1. bustling: 繁忙的，熙熙攘攘的。
2. field trip: 实地考察，现场考察；amusement park: 游乐场，游乐园。
3. fringe: 边缘，外围。
4. sand dune: 沙丘；haze:（使）笼罩在薄雾中；blur: （使）变模糊。
5. drone: 絮絮叨叨地说下去；thump: 砰的重击声。
6. live through: 度过，经受住； parched: 烤干的，极度口渴的。
7. whirl:（使）飞快移动，（使）旋转。
8. outshine: 比……更亮，比……更出色。
9. stare sb. in the face: （事实等）变得清楚，近在眼前。
我生活在一片沙漠中。好吧，它曾经是片沙漠。而现在只有商场、房屋、公寓、餐馆和商店，仅仅留下了布满灰尘的窗户，标志着这里曾为沙漠。在这里变成熙熙攘攘的城市之时，我还没有出生。我来时，此地已成为一座拥有大量石油和尘窗的城市。当我离开之际，或许它依然是一座尘窗遍布的城市。没有人真正留意过沙漠的消失。我们去那里进行实地考察，然而学生们往往更喜欢游乐园。是的，城市的周边还残留着一片沙漠，但也在不断地消失。没有人真正在乎。
我梦到自己迷失在沙漠中。我梦到自己只能看见连绵的沙丘，笼罩在卷着沙土的风中，泪眼模糊了视线。课堂上，老师在絮絮叨叨地讲着什么，我看到四周的墙壁轰然倒塌，布满灰尘的窗户砰地一声落地，陷入沙中。
在我的梦中，到处都是阳光；唯一的背阴处便是在飞舞的沙丘之下。我刚在沙漠上踏下脚印，它们就即刻消失了。我不停地走啊走，累了的时候，就骑上我的骆驼。
我经历了一场沙尘暴，让我喉干舌燥。我停下脚步，闭上双眼，感受风沙在四周呼啸盘旋，我自身的渺小竟然发出比风更大的回响！当沙尘暴停下来时，我睁开双眼，发现身处异地。一切都已移动过了，曾经泾渭分明的小路也已发生改变。
我梦见自己不知所往，不知所措，欲哭无泪，因为泪水已经流干。我梦见自己睡在星空之下，星光还未被城市的灯光所遮盖，望着月亮，想知道早上应该做什么，到时只有太阳作为我的向导，我祈祷能成功找到一个营地。
我梦到了所有这些，但它会实现吗？不会。当还有热带雨林在濒临消亡之际，会有人去拯救沙漠吗？不会，没有人，永远也没有。我会继续永远地迷失在城市之中，只能梦想着、期盼着和想象着。而当我透过尘窗望着这座城市时，事实近在眼前，无法逃避。