A Piece of Desert

In summer, deep in the endless forests of the Urals, you can sometimes stumble upon the most unexpected landscapes.

Birch trees all around, and yet before you rise hills of pale sand. If you didn't know better, you'd think the wind had carried a piece of the desert all the way here.

This is one of the old sand quarries. There are quite a few of them left in these parts — years ago, quartz sand was mined here for glassmaking, foundry work, and many other industries. After they were abandoned, the forest slowly reclaimed them, but the sand hills remained long after.

From a distance, the sand looks perfectly ordinary. But step closer, and the whole surface begins to sparkle in the sunlight. Every grain looks like a tiny shard of glass. It's quartz — one of the most common minerals on Earth. That's what gives the sand its thousands of tiny glints.

Then all that's left is to let your imagination take over. Imagine it isn't quartz at all, but spice. That this dune is a piece of Arrakis. Which means that somewhere, deep beneath the sand, Shai-Hulud is already waiting...

And without meaning to, you find yourself trying not to make a sound.

Just in case.

Southern Urals, Russia.
June, 2020.
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