A Gentle Breeze

Finally, relief from the remnants of another scorching day in Niger. The gentle breeze lifts the heavy night air.

I partially wake as my feet become entangled in my mosquito netting, but the wind feels good and a quick glance to the sky reveals that the stars and moon have not been overtaken by clouds that threaten rain, so I settle back into slumber.

A short time later the breeze picks up and a few people can be seen stirring, but the only sound is that of a steady, cool, and welcomed wind.

It happens so quickly that the transition goes unnoticed, but the wind is now patterned with intermittent, yet powerful gusts. It is no longer gentle, as sand is now tagging along and riding the gusts.

The mosquito netting takes on the quality of a vaccuum cleaner's filter and sheets become a shield against the grainy peppering of the face by sand. However, the intensity grows, netting comes untucked, taking on the quality of anchored kites.

By this time, a few people have begun taking down their beds and they move with purpose to get inside. It doesn't take long until all bodies are moving and oddly alert at such an unusual hour. The few individuals who have chosen to weather the storm are rousted from their determined slumber, the gusts are saturated with pelting sands. Clearly, the lack of visibility and consant waves of sand will not allow anyone to sleep without becoming caked in dust and dirt that will be found in the oddest of places for weeks to come.

The gusts intensify and now there is a scramble to get indoors. Mattresses take on the role of ship sails as we struggle to get them in, tugging the bearer away from the desired destination. There are a few shrieks, but they are short as a mouth quickly fills with the blowing dust.

The relief of being out of the dust storm is short lived, as the stagnant, hot air stiffels the new inhabitants who are sporadically placed about the floor. The solitary fan does little to create movement of the stale air. At this point I'm quite certain it could be no worse to ride out the now ferocious, gusty storm, as I find myself willing to give anything for a nice gentle breeze.