A New Beginning
International Christian School, Ashley Woo, Fiction: Group 2
I
n the far end of swirling sands trudged two small shadows, walking off into the sunset. They
stopped beneath a Saxaul tree, and rested there for the night.
Sarah’s eyes gradually adjusted to the light as she sat up. She glanced at her younger
sister, who was still peacefully dreaming away. She sighed. They had been traveling for
weeks to get to this point of the desert, where their father would be. She thought about what
her mother had told her before she died: “Go find your father. He’s in the Gobi Desert, under the
Saxaul tree with the largest branches in the forest near the end of the desert. You’ve visited him
once, but you probably don’t remember.” With shaky hands she had handed her a crumpled up
map to help her find her way. Again her eyes fell on her sister. “Time to get up, Linda.”
Linda was dreaming about meeting her father when something nudged her. “Wake up,
sleepyhead,” she heard. Linda tugged on her thin, cotton blanket and rolled away. Again she felt
strong arms, this time shaking her. With a final, hard shake, Linda finally opened her eyes, and
found herself looking face to face with her sister. She smiled. “It won’t be long now.”
A little while later, Sarah and Linda were walking towards the forests, each of them nibbling
on a piece of dry bread. “Which way?” Linda asked. She stared up at Sarah with her big brown
eyes. Sarah reached for her map, then pointed towards the direction of the forest. “Race you
there!” Linda called as she ran. Sarah followed after her into the cluster of trees.
She shivered as she entered the forest, and stopped a moment to catch her breath. The weather
was cold enough outside, but somehow, the forest was colder. The trees made the place seem
darker too, but she could still hear as well, and she did NOT hear any footsteps other than her
own. Sarah looked around for Linda, but she was nowhere to be seen. Sarah frantically searched
for her sister. “Linda, where are you? Come out, come out wherever you are!” She began to feel
fretful. She had searched and searched, but her search was not successful. Linda had disappeared.
Sarah began to cry. Where was Linda? How would she find her? What would she do now?
Sarah knew she had to journey on. She wiped her away her last tear, and inhaled deeply. She
would find her sister, and find her dad. She could do this. She marched on with a brave face,
thinking only of her sister and father.
“Linda!” Sarah called as she wandered through the forest. She tried to think about where her
sister would hide in a forest. Behind a tree? Up in a tree?
It was noon when Sarah stumbled across a worn-down house. She went up to the door and
knocked. She waited. She knocked again. No answer. She went over to a window and peeked in. It
seemed empty. Sarah walked off, disappointed. What did she expect to find? She continued on the
path and was lost in thought when she felt a tap on her shoulder. “Ahh!” she screamed. She heard
a giggle behind her. Sarah spun around. “Linda!” she exclaimed. “I was worried sick about you!
Where were you?” Linda grinned, and pointed to the house Sarah had seen just a moment ago.
Usually, Sarah would have scolded Linda, but she was too relieved to be angry. She hugged Linda,
and simply told her not to do that ever again. “I promise,” Linda said. She paused. “But it was
just a joke. You would have found me sooner or later.” Sarah shook her head and wondered how
little sisters never seemed to worry about anything, let alone wonder what could have happened
if something had gone wrong. She shook off her thoughts and motioned Linda to join her to the
