An Unforgettable Experience
In the Gobi Desert
Shanghai Singapore International School, Ng Chyi Shien Nicole, Fiction: Group 2
N
ew Year’s Eve is the most exciting day of the year. I would go camping out with my old
friends. We had done this for the past fifteen years. It felt good to see my friends again.
I felt extremely thrilled that a rush of adrenaline went through my body. We met at the
sandy camping site that we had agreed on. By the time we finished setting up our tents,
it was evening. We set up a small fire and danced and sang beside it. When we got tired, we sat
around the warm fire and roasted chicken wings. We began to take turns sharing our experiences.
When it was my turn, I decided to share about my experience that happened here years ago.
I was a young archaeologist then. Before my time, many archaeologists had found many
pieces of a complete fossil, but they never found the last piece. Since all the other archaeologists
found the fossil pieces in the Gobi Desert, even the first dinosaur egg, I was naturally assigned to
go to the Gobi to search for the last piece. I was accompanied by my fellow archeologist, Brian.
We set off on a sunny day. When we got to the desert, it was night. We set up our tent and went to
sleep, feeling exhausted. The next morning, I woke up feeling cold, upon seeing Brian still asleep,
I went outside the tent and looked at the sky. The horizon was splashed in different shades of
orange and yellow. The harshness of the desert seems to magnify the beauty of nature.
“You are up early! Excited?” a voice called from behind me. I turned and saw Brian. I nodded
my head. “Let’s eat and get ready! It’s going to be a long day!”
We took out our canned baked beans and sausages. As we ate our breakfast, Brian suggested,
“Shall we split up to find that fossil piece today?”
“Sure!” I replied.
After we finished our breakfast, we changed and got ready to look for the fossil piece. “If you
have any problems or if you want to have lunch, call me,” Brian said. I nodded as I bent over to
tighten my shoelaces.
I thought I heard a low chuckle as I went out of the door, but I shrugged and kept walking.
‘I must be hearing things,’ I thought. I started by searching in the North, guided by the compass
that was in my pocket. Hours passed but my search was futile.
I decided to go back to our tent to have lunch before I continued searching as I was getting
hungry. I called Brian. “Hello, Brian, have you found anything yet?” I asked.
“Nope!” he answered.
“Shall we have lunch first before we continue?” I asked. “I’m getting hungry.”
“Sure!” Brian agreed. “Let’s meet back here, I mean, back in the tent, okay?”
I was slightly confused by his words, but I agreed and hung up. I felt for the compass in my
pocket, but it wasn’t there! I started to panic. Soon, I calmed my nerves and remembered the
compass in my phone. What a great invention! I followed the compass and walked back to the
tent. I realized that things were terribly wrong when I stepped foot into the tent. All my things
had disappeared! My backpack, my sleeping bag, everything was gone! I tried calling Brian, but
his phone was turned off. Panic struck me again. Suddenly, I saw a note on the floor. I picked it
up. It read, “Farewell!” I gasped in horror as the truth struck me like lightning. It must have been
