I slept well and long. When I woke up, I felt rested and calm. I didn't worry about the 'mirage' disappearing anymore (it was already going for too long for a mirage), I stopped thinking about whether I had made a mistake. Behind the window, it was already a blinding bright day.

The window went out on the outer side of the farm. Some 20 feet from the house there was a simple wire fence; in front of it, there was running a garden bed with some white plants (as I later found out, those had been ordinary plants covered in white dust); behind it, the familiar white flat plane was spreading away all the way up until it merged with haze.

Some noise was coming from around the house: Maisha was explaining something to Meir, who replied in his deep calm voice; Ailin said something while running out. Dogs were barking outside. Soon the car started up and left the yard, footsteps became sparser and quieter.

Though a thin blade of doubt was still pricking me from the inside, somehow I was sure that these were good people. They were the kind of people who took serious things seriously, who didn't judge without knowing, and whose primary genuine intention was to help those in need. I didn't know if it was her who arranged this encounter for me, but I did feel extremely lucky – rather undeservedly so.

I got up, got dressed, and went down to do the morning chores. Mops Booty met me downstairs with great joy as if I'd already been a member of the family. He demanded that I caress him, and for some ten minutes I got busy. Labrador Ama was outside – apparently she was not allowed into the house, unlike the mops.

At the moment the only one remaining in the house was Ailin. She was a tall and spare girl with a pale face. She fixed me breakfast and made a coffee; she was reserved and shy – and so was I for that matter – so after the breakfast, she went out to work in the garden, and for a time I stayed alone.

Soon Meir returned on a loud shiny motorcycle, that he parked outside. Today he was dressed in a white shirt with 'white shirt' printed in black letters on the chest.

“Is it some kind of a collection?” I asked him pointing to the letters.

“In fact, it is, actually,” he replied spreading his chest proudly. “I have this one, also a red one, a black one, green, pink and blue. A friend of mine has a printing shop back in London, he sent me these as a gift on last Christmas. I think we can give one to you.”

“Oh, that's not necessary.”

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“No-no, please take it, you'll need it.”

Maisha was out in the 'city'. Tigran – a helper on the farm, arrived around noon. He was a sturdy, darkly tanned guy with a big smile and strong handgrip. The family was out on the farm, and I was in the house again.

I knew, that I could not stay here long though. I had to get moving, I had to start figuring out my way to the mountain.

“You said yesterday, that you could only give some guidance on finding the way,” I told Meir, when he returned from the garden in a straw hat.

“Aha, yeah. You mean, you're already leaving?”

“Yes, I think. I think I need to start moving at least somewhere. As early as possible.”

“Well, the earlier, the better, that is true.” He took off his hat and stood with it for a minute thinking. “Guidance, then. I'd say this: the best way to start your searches if you haven't seen the mountain yet, is to walk around – as simplistic as it sounds. You walk around, you take notes – by the way, this is important. You'll have to take notes, and by that I mean – literally. Do you have a notepad?”

I did have a notepad and a handful of pencils.

“That is good. Now, I won't be able to tell you the exact mechanism here, because I can't quite grasp it myself, but the White opens most willingly to those who watch, listen, and take their notes.”

He then told several tricks on what kind of notes could do what, what things are easier to find, what can be useful, and what should be avoided.

“By the way, there are taxis here, believe it or not,” he went on. “They can be very useful. They are usually easy to spot because it is kind of their job, but they are very rare in this part of the desert. Still, you should watch out for them. Do you have money?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Prices here can be exorbitant, so if you're short on money – say it straight.”

“Yes, I have experienced that,” I said with a smile. “No, thank you, so far I'm good.” The idea of taking money from these people, in addition to all that they've already given me, seemed blasphemous to me.

“Auright. What about necessities: food, water?”

I was short on those, and Meir momentarily got to help me with that. Soon my backpack was filled with snacks, dried fruits, some sandwiches made by Ailin, a huge bottle of water. We exchanged telephone numbers; Meir also explained to me how to navigate by the sun using a wristwatch.

“You point your hour hand at the sun,” he said, “we are in the Northern hemisphere, so it will work here. You point it to the sun, and then you take the area between the hour hand and 12 o'clock and draw a line through the middle of it, so for example it's 1 o'clock now, we take this area from 12 to 1, we divide it by two, and at half past twelve – it's south; opposite direction is north, right – west and left – east. Remember well, which direction our house is in, and if you ever feel lost or confused, or you don't have anywhere to stay – go that direction right to us; we are always happy to shelter you here!”

“I have no idea how to thank you.”

“Don't sweat it. As I've said, helping newcomers is our duty as established climbers.” He winked at me. “Go find that mountain!”