Shortlisted
The Gobi Desert
Singapore International School, Kok Zi Suen, 10
T
he Gobi Desert, might appear to most, a barren stretch of nothingness. But as they say,
“Don’t judge the book by its cover”. The exterior of the desert, pale and inconspicuous as
it is, is merely a façade masking the true colours of the desert.
For one, the unforgettable events of that fateful day have peeled off some of its aged
façade, at least for me.
16th July 2002.
Ada, James and I had just left Khanbogd, and we were heading towards the Flaming Cliffs,
situated in the Omnogov Province of Mongolia - the birthplace of the dinosaur fossil rumours.
“James! We’re almost there! Can you see beyond the sand mist?”
“Yes! Let’s go to the land of fossils! ”
“But why is the mist getting more dense? What on Earth is happening?”
“Oh my, my eyes are hurting! Why are the sand particles all flying in our direction? And why
can’t I see anything?”
“Oh dear, this must be one of those violent sandstorms that occasionally visits the Gobi
Desert! I read about it on the plane to Mongolia!”
“Stop talking! The sand is already getting into my mouth. Get onto the camel, crouch
forwards, and gallop towards the cliffs! I remember being told that there are caves hidden on the
face of the cliffs! We’ll meet at the foot later, okay?”
Our unanimous voices rung out in the air, but other than the almost unrecognizable word
“Yes!”, the rest of our voices were drowned out by the roar of the wind as it enveloped us in a
blanket of sand.
Eventually, I, alone with my camel, stumbled into one of the caves at the edge of the cliff,
weary and irritated. Once I tied my camel to a protrusion on the cliff and I stepped into the cave,
I was thrown into utter darkness. As I ventured further into the depths of the pitch black cavern,
I stumbled over an object; my hand came into contact with the fall-inducing obstacle. As it fit
itself into the palm of my hand, my eyes blinked in disbelief as the object in my hand started to
emit an incandescent glow. Within seconds, I was encapsulated in a bubble of light that was all
encompassing, before seconds later, the light faded to a pulsating bright dot. As I took a closer
look at the object in my hand, I realized, shocked, that it was the skull of an infant dinosaur…
16th July B.C. 4000.
As I stepped outside the cave, a completely bizarre sight materialized before me. A mother
creature was nursing its egg in a nest hidden in the foliage. Immediately, I knew - this was an
adult, vegetarian
Apatosaurus.
A quick look around my surroundings told me that I had, somehow time travelled back a
few thousand years into the prehistoric age, where dinosaurs existed. The rare infant skull of
the dinosaur that I had found was probably a secret link to the prehistoric past. Looking at the
