A DAY IN THE GOBI DESERT
Victoria Shanghai Academy, Calvin Chin, Fiction: Group 2
A
t the break of dawn on a perfectly sunny day in the Gobi Desert, I was woken
up suddenly.
It was my boss! He said that he wanted to take me somewhere.
I was so deep in my sweet dreams of dates and milk that I couldn’t get up until
Boss poured cold water over my body which sent a shiver down my less than perfect spine. I
swear, this isn’t my idea of a morning call for duty.
Boss pulled me aside and told me that we were going to join the caravan along the Silk Road
to trade his stuff.
I whined and complained that I hated walking under the hot sun, carrying all his heavy stuff
as usual. He just replied, “Shut your mouth, what do you know?” with a wicked grin, and pulled
and jerked me across the sands to the waiting caravan.
Surprisingly, this time Boss didn’t ask me to bring much, other than a few of his prized
Persian carpets. That lifted my spirits, so I was as free as an eagle when I walked alongside him
towards the caravan.
When we got there, the other servants teased me. They said that I was lazy, not useful for
anything at all. But I just ignored them because I knew that they’re just being jealous of my
good fortune.
There were a lot of strange people with ginormous turbans and colourful costumes who spoke
alien languages, with their servants and animals in the caravan. The monkeys were making a
racket and the eagles were perching regally on their masters’ shoulders. Some people even brought
along dangerous and vicious vipers. And of course, there were the goods; you name it, they had it:
mammal tusks, lion fur and even dinosaur bones! I wondered where the caravan was heading this
time and how long it would take to reach our destination.
We travelled across oceans of sand dunes, with the desert wind doing its magic twirling and
shifting the landscape. Suddenly, we stopped and looked in awe at a giant wall in front of us. It
looked like an endless snake moving across the horizon, casting a shadow over everything along
its path.
There were a few guards with spears, bows and arrows looking down at us suspiciously from
the many watchtowers.
Then one of the servant boys whispered in my ear, “My friend, that is the Great Wall of China.”
“What is it for?” I asked.
“To keep us out!” the boy shouted.
I was confused by what he said. I wonder how many men it took to build such a long wall.
“By the way my name is Abu. What’s yours?” Abu asked.
“My name is Genghis.” I replied.
“I don’t suppose that stood for bravery after the Great Genghis Khan!” Abu giggled.
I wasn’t amused with Abu making fun of my namesake, the great warrior who conquered
many lands near and far afield.
I thought I shouldn’t take Abu seriously, as servant boys are full of mischief, gossips and lies.
As the day wore on, the desert sun beat down angrily on me. It felt like my body was being
