New Tales of the Gobi Desert
Beacon Hill School, Rachael Adams, Fiction: Group 2
M
y name’s Emmalia Johnson. I was born to a rich family in Toronto, Canada and I’ve
been on several vacations, goodness knows how many. One summer, my family and
I were off in the Gobi Desert, and I was having a lot of fun… until the end of the
first week.
After the first week, my mom, dad, and I were off having fun on our camels. Mine was Flary,
because it kept flaring its nostrils. But anyway, we were just riding around near an oasis when
Flary suddenly went berserk whilst I was still on his back. He ran off, about a mile from where we
were last. All else I remember about that day was falling off Flary head-first, plummeting off the
camel then blacking out.
I woke up on a bed of straw, trying to figure out where I was, when a boy with a bright smile
popped up in front of me. “Sain baina uu!”
“Excuse me?” He looked at me strangely, and brightened again. “Oh, you no speak Mongolian!
I is Osake of Katukanu Village!” I nodded my head slowly, trying to adjust. I’m in the Gobi Desert,
I thought. Without my family or anyone I know. As Osake left the room, a small nagging voice
in the back of my head said ‘There’s a treasure here! You may not leave with them physically, but
they will always be with you mentally! Hunt the town, and you will find it!’ I rolled my eyes,
shook my head, and hesitantly walked out of the room I was in.
An old woman greeted me, smiling warmly. She said in perfectly fluent English, “Hello,
m’sweet. What’s your name, and how’d you get here, love?” My mouth almost fell out of my jaws.
“Y..so..Someone here speaks English? I thought everyone spoke Mongolian!”
“Nay, dear. I too speak Mongolian, but I am traditionally English. A lot of people speak
English, due to my tutoring. I decided to stay whilst trekking the Gobi. And now I have lived to as
old an age I am now. So how did you get here? You seem too young to explore the Gobi alone.”
“I’m Emmalia, though everyone calls me Emma. And how’d I get here? Well…” I explained my
story, with the part about the annoying little voice, though I still have no idea why. As we talked,
other villagers gathered around us, wondering what we were saying. She smiled sympathetically,
and said something I really didn’t understand: Your life from here is all your choice. Whether
you choose to follow your instructions, it is up to you. I flinched slightly, having no idea what to
do. Then the little voice screamed, ‘Go on and find out something! Your treasure waits for you!’ I
winced and stood up, brushing myself off, and walked out in the sunshine of the Gobi, everyone’s
gazes following my every step.
I saw a couple of girls around my age and walked towards them. I tapped the first one on the
shoulder, and she whirled around and looked at me with a surprisingly icy gaze. She softened a
little, and I introduced myself as Emma again. She responded, “Sorry. I thought you were one of
those annoying village boys. Anyway, I’m Melissa and this is Sandy.” Melissa gestured to the shy,
timid girl standing to her right. Sandy gave me a small wave and a shy smile. I asked, “So, have
you seen or heard of any ancient treasures around here?” The voice screamed, ‘NOOOOO! IT’S TOO
DIRECT!’ I raised my eyebrows, as Melissa creased her brow and looked deep in thought. “No.”
She then brightened at looked at me directly in the eyes. “Are you a treasure hunter? We could
be a trio! Sandy’s an expert on maps, plus she’s a genius. When I was younger, my dad taught me
