The next day, he was awakened by Belle, who tugged at the tufts of hair springing out from under his hat. Frantically, she cried, "Wake up, Micah! C'mon, wake up!"

Micah shooed her away. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes, and stretched out his sore legs. He clutched the ground, but instead of coming up with dry dirt, Micah came up with handfuls of sand.

He opened his eyes and shut them immediately, for the sun's brilliant rays reflected off the bright sand around him. Shielding his eyes, Micah looked around. He was in a desert.

He jumped to his feet, alarmed. "How did this happen?" he cried.

"I don't know!" said Belle. "It was like this when I woke up."

The heat was unbearable, unlike the pleasant, room temperature of the day before. Micah opened his water bottle. To his dismay, it was only a quarter full.

"Let's get going," he said.

The heat became worse as the day went on. At noon, the sun shone above him. He became worried, thinking that he had no sense of direction now. Then, looking closely at the blue sky, he could see the "real" sun, still in the north sky, and still distributing neither light nor heat.

"Karod," he muttered.

Micah did his best to reserve the water, but the dunes he was forced to cross were sapping his strength. He needed the water. By the afternoon, his water bottle was empty, but his thirst was no more quenched.

Beads of sweat ran down his bangs, obstructing his view. His eyes couldn't stay focused, and his mouth hung open, his swollen tongue drooping like a dog's. Belle, being a fairy, had excellent stamina, but eventually, she was too tired to fly. She hid in Micah's pocket the rest of the day. Micah worried that, by nightfall, he wouldn't have the strength to dig a shelter. By five in the evening, he had abandoned all hope of lasting that long.

"Belle," he mumbled. "I... I think... I'm... beginning to... to believe... that... legend."

He collapsed, with his face landing on the hot sand, but without the strength to move. He closed his eyes. The desert had defeated him.

It was less than five minutes later when he was awakened by music. Somewhere in the distance, someone was playing a song. It was a lovely tune, but was being played too fast. The song came closer.

Micah sat up. Shimmering in the heat was a man with a music box, whirling the crank, producing the speedy tune. Reflecting on the confrontation with the girl the day before, Micah crawled along the sand, desperate not to cross paths with another dreamer and incur a fight. But the music man appeared to already be angry. He held a continual scowl on his face as he whirled the crank in anger.

"What is it?" Micah croaked, when the man was close enough to hear his quiet voice.

The man looked at him, and stopped playing. "I was playing my music," he said, "Walking down the street, when suddenly, children began to follow me, laughing as I played my song. Soon, every child in town was following me. I was beaming, for I had waited for that moment all my life; to bring happiness to the children of the world through my music."

"What happened?" said Micah.

The music man spread his arms wide. "This happened!" he shouted. "The sand blew from the west, covering all the land in a desert. The children were blown away in the wind. Now, I am nothing!"

Micah held out his water bottle. "I will help get rid of the desert," he whispered, "And bring back your children... if you will give me some water."

The man shook his head, saying, "I am sorry, but I have none. Though I do have the notes to a song that may prove useful. Do you have an instrument?"

"I do," said Micah, bringing out the ocarina.

The man handed him the notes. "It is the Song of Storms," he said. He walked away, whirling the crank of the music box as he went.

Micah held the ocarina to his cracked lips and played the song. As he played, storm clouds formed above. Micah lowered the instrument and gaped in awe.

"Don't stop!" cried Belle. "Keep going!"

He continued the song. Soon, drops of rain began to hit the sand. Then the storm was unleashed. Winds picked up, the clouds roared with thunder, and the rain poured like a monsoon.

Micah opened his mouth to the sky, allowing the drops of water to fall onto his parched tongue. Once quenched, he filled his water bottle to the brim. He pulled Belle out of his pocket, and she drank the water, too. She quickly dived back into his pocket. Her wings were heavy with water.

"It's nice to have some water," she said. "But let's hope we don't drown in it." The downpour ceased several minutes later.

"We have survived the desert," said Micah. "But Karod will not let us go so easily. There will be another obstacle... I know it."

By nightfall, the desert had disappeared, and the flat dirt plain showed no sign of the day before. Micah dug his shelter, and as he lay curled up inside, he watched the dreams around him, rising and fading away. Eventually, he too fell asleep. That night, he dreamed that he was walking along a plain, dirt field, and he came upon a young Kokiri boy and his fairy, curled together inside a hole in the ground. He continued along the dirt field, and soon, he could see a building, standing alone in the distance. As his dream faded away, he knew that he was very close to his goal, and that the next day would be an epic one indeed.