The man rowed and rowed, two hours passed and the man still rowed. On their way to the shore, Zekhen couldn’t help but remember and re-remember that awkward moment when the sailor offered him a delicatess among those of that job.

“Aye, me friend, eet up, t’ill giv ya energy and save’p your strength.”

Lost across the ocean, surrounded by a staggering smell of salt and by the big blue, was the worst case scenario for a desert born within the heart of the desert.

“What is it?” The food that was offered to him looked funny sure.

“Ain’t matter, eet up!”

He gathered little courage that he still had and took a bite out of the white mean, and started chewing on it. It felt like rubber and though with a gulp the delicates was swallowed up. its taste turned his stomach upside down from the first moment that the meat touched his tongue. His muscles twitched, forcing him to throw out the funny eat along with his previous meal, the ocean did not help either by making the vessel swing and swing.

“Horrible… what is it?”

“Ow, me friend, you hurt, it is raw squid, I luv it” the mere scene of the sailor savoring a piece of that squid made the poor desert elf throw up again.

He damned that ship and everything that was on it, since embarked he only had problems.

---

The man rowed and rowed.

“Are we there yet?” Zekhen asked, in obvious consternation and a deeper frustration that before. If possible at all, his tanned face turned pale, and his stomach ached like crazy. He was in the worst of shapes.
Floating on a life boat in the middle of a ocean, Zekhen’s life was in the hands of the sailor from earlier. The vessel sunk and each of the crew member made their escape with the life boats.

“Patience, patience and ye can cross da sea… Seems that yer curses had finally came to us. Gimme a hand lad, row lad row!”

“I would gladly help you with that, but I’m sea sick and I don’t think that would help much.” No wonder.

“Aye, no just the cure fer dat, tell meh sumffin weird.” The sailor advised Zekhen to talk and forget about his sickness, but what if that piece of advice was just as delicious as the raw squid?

“Well, I did have this dream a few days ago, it happened that I was attacked by vegetables, and they wanted to cook me in a big bowl, make wine out of my blood and all, it was very scary. It was in a pasture, and I couldn’t move because of the gravity that kept me in place…” he stopped in mid sentence, worried about the shocked look upon the sailor’s face.

“Me mate, I said sumfin weird, not retarded. Tis not healthy for you” He shook his head and continued to row, doing all the job. Indeed, having a conversation with vegetables was not a healthy thing for his mind; for the rest of his life he would like to believe that he never did that again.

“Shut up, Patrick!”

“Ahoy, lad, me name is no Patrick, the salt affected yer mind.”

The elf blinked a few times, and for a moment he couldn’t believe his own words.

“Oh… umm… I’m sorry, is that you rant just like my friend Patrick, nothing of what I say is good enough for him.” He frowned and looked away only to see land in the near distance.

On the mighty desert, he was saved!!