another direction. He licked his lips grudgingly, backed off and snarled: “Your guardian angel has
come.” He trotted away. The rest of the pack followed him in retreat. When the pack was out of
sight, Naran pressed his ear on the ground. “Hooves,” he shouted. Oyun stared at him in surprise.
She whispered: “Gor is our guardian angel! She scared away the wolves!” “How can she be our
guardian angel?” Naran wondered. “I don’t know,” Oyun replied. “Let’s get some sleep,” she said.
“Tomorrow, we might find out more about Gor.”
The next day, they sighted herds of gazelles, a few jerboas, some geckos, but not Gor. As they
walked on, the boiling heat, increasing dehydration and lack of water became unbearable. On
the vast landscape, a shimmer of light caught Oyun’s eyes. “Water! Yay! ” she exclaimed. Naran
looked. He smiled and said: “Let’s drink all our water.” After finishing their water, they raced
towards the “lake.” Then she gasped. “There’s no water! It is only a mirage. What should we do
now?” Naran stared at the empty space in disbelief. “I can’t believe it.” He stuttered. “Let’s walk
on, we might find a ger.” She said with feigned cheerfulness. The disappointment, dehydration
and boiling heat soon took their toll. They had to take breaks often. They stopped early, unable to
go on. They soon drifted into a deep sleep.
Morning came, they woke up exhausted. They tried to walk, but after a few steps, lapsed into
a semi-coma. Something licked Oyun, a wet, slimy kiss. It was Gor! She came to their rescue!
She gently butted Oyun and let her clamber on her back. Gor picked up the water bottles with her
mouth and galloped to a clear lake. Oyun’s eyes widened. It was real water! She scooped a few
handfuls of water and drank. She quickly filled the bottles to their brim and urged Gor to gallop
back. Oyun slapped Naran awake. Seeing the water, he jumped up and drank to his heart. They
stroked Gor. Gor sniffed east, as if telling Oyun a ger was not far away in that direction. She then
disappeared into thin air.
There was no trace of Gor. They already missed her. After offering a silent prayer to Tengger
and Gor and promised to present them with a blue khadag at the next ovoo, they picked
themselves up and trekked with conviction east as Gor hinted – miles after miles…...
Dear Readers, guess, did they finally reach safety or would they die in the Gobi?
