“Your childhood home is a place of ebbing summertime. Where branches of dense willows flow along a warm breeze, its thin leaves drift peacefully onto a familiar brick path. You walk past a pond, the gentle wind forms small waves across the surface, and you see a rusted bicycle in the murky waters. 

You must continue. You must find her. You must remember her name. Children run under the willows, they are also reduced to nothing but shadows. They mean no harm, too engrossed in their afternoon playtime to notice your presence. 

The house had been rented out and turned into a nursery. What once was your own private playground is now shared by countless children. The wall where you used to draw now holds the markings of other children, memories of a communal childhood. You walk up the stairs and reach the living area, emptiness. You walk up another flight of stairs and reach a study. A thick layer of dust rests on a polished table surrounded by books. Did you have a third floor in your childhood home? 

You continue up to the fourth floor and reach your neighbor’s living room.  

Fifth floor, a zoo. You see a zebra with a scar across its hind leg, shadowy zookeepers stand behind the animal, looking at you with an intense gaze.  

Sixth floor, a second-hand furniture store. 

Seventh floor, poor imitation of the International Space Station. The entire floor is covered in aluminum wrap, big buttons that glow red with green hues blinking every now and then. 

Eighth floor, your childhood friend sits quietly in a chair amidst a sea of darkness. She is wearing a white dress. Her green eyes lock softly upon your gaze, and a faint grin slowly spreads across her face.”  

Nostalgia mixes with mystery in this piece of short fiction. The memories of a childhood home, unreconciled feelings of longing for the place where only you can call home. The unwavering certainty at finding a mysterious girl. Forgotten names. Within the Sandstorm is a feverish, dreamy story modeled after the author’s dream. It expands into beautiful dreamscapes as normal things become more and more fantastic.  

“This piece of short fiction is filled with mystery and nostalgia. It is a story written after a dream by the author. It tells the story of an unnamed protagonist trying to find a girl whose name has been forgotten. Within the sandstorm has vividly descriptive prose and a touching story.”