The Oasis of Time: A Desert Story

Doctor Bowser

For your health!
Pronouns
he/him
MarioWiki
MegaBowser64
You march wearily through the torrid, unforgiving desert, blown amidst the sands of time. Day after day, night after night, the same sultry heat and blistering cold wear down your willingness to trudge forward. That is, until one picturesque evening, when, as the sun retreats over the endless dunes and the air cools, you see something glistening far off on the horizon. The moment a shimmering movement catches your eye, you know exactly what it is. Water! An oasis! A glimmer of hope, a drop of life amongst the cruel sands! A wave of relief washes over you as you run towards the oasis.

As you get closer you notice a lonely palm tree bending over the pool of water, which is illuminated by the setting sun. Once there, you drink from the pool, quenching all feelings of thirst and weariness. Satisfied, you lie down beneath the palm tree as the sun disappears and the stars present themselves, shining brightly in the sky. You drift into an easy sleep, comforted by the sounds of the rippling water, the whisper of the palm tree's leaves, and the distant chirping of desert locusts.

Early the next morning, you wake to the same calm oasis you had found the day before. As you wash yourself in the crystal-clear pool, you realize that you can't stay here forever. Having been refreshed, you must now move on, continuing your long journey. However, before leaving, you catch sight of something you hadn't noticed before. On the other side of the palm tree lay an old sack, beaten by sand and wind. Upon opening it, you find four very peculiar objects. First you remove a bar of soap. Next, a bottle of shampoo. After that, a bottle of conditioner. Lastly, a razor. Then, from somewhere deep inside of you emerges a voice, ancient and ghostly, hoarse and whispering like the wind itself. "You must only take one. Choose wisely."
You don't want to upset the spirit, so you settle on only taking one before carrying on with your journey. Which item do you choose to bring with you?
 
I know this one's one of the more unusual threads I've created, I'll explain how it came to be.

This morning, as I was gazing around my bathroom, I saw a bar of soap, shampoo, conditioner, and a razor. I thought to myself, "which one of these would be most valuable in an unusual situation?" I immediately decided on the stereotypical "lost in the desert" scene, applying each item in different scenarios. However, I began to paint a more vivid picture of a desert in my mind, and started thinking about how you realistically could get stuck in the desert with soap, shampoo, conditioner, or a razor.

Soon enough, I had the beginnings of a proper story. I took to my laptop and started typing it out. By the time I was done, I had ended up writing for about an hour straight! I decided to post it on here, and here it is! I meant for it to flow seamlessly, almost as if there was nothing wrong with randomly finding bathroom items in a desert, and I think I accomplished my task.
 
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