3/5/2009
11
Aegypt
Storm
clouds grew across the darkening sky. They squared off like
titans, rising tremendously over the burning sands. The air pressure
dropped suddenly, caressing yawning ears, and in the storm’s
wake, the nearly constant winds died. Silence charged the
air like static electricity. Not a sound broke the stillness until, with a
harsh crackle of blue fire, the clouds burst open and poured
a solid torrent over the acrid waste.
At
first, the sands soaked up the downpour like a sponge. Then,
glutted, they cast off the water in ever-increasing amounts.
The initial runlets took a while to form, but soon, under the
blasting deluge of the heavy rain, they assumed the character
of reverse deltas, inverse Niles that funneled the water
into dry streambeds and deeper canyons. The dirty, heavy,
grit-laden liquid fought its way through the bone-dry sand until
it was finally and completely absorbed.