The Kaleidoscopic Sands
British International School Shanghai Puxi, Qiyi Chong, Fiction: Group 3
I
n the Gobi desert, there is a professor of ancient Mongol history from Stanford University, by
the name of Cameron Waterson. Every time he visits the Gobi desert, he’s impressed at how
vast the place is, what the Chinese describe as ‘an endless sea’. He crouches down, picking up a
handful of sand, and is reminded that the Gobi sands, unlike normal beach sands, are made up
of worn down rocks, shattered by the extreme temperature swings the place experiences nightly.
As he is driving back to his hotel, in an open top jeep, he notices a rundown antique shop.
Even though the shop looks deserted, he decides to look inside. As he enters, a bell rings above his
head, causing him to look around, before spotting a grey-bearded man sitting silently staring at
him. Cameron says hello in the local dialect, but gets no reply. He spends a few minutes hunting
around for objects of historical interest, but doesn’t get lucky. The professor then explains what he
is looking for, and asks the old man, “Is there anything you would recommend?”
The shopkeeper holds out his hand and gives the professor a triangular prism of dusty red
glass, about 30 cm long.
Unsure of what it’s for, the professor blows the dust off its slopes, before holding it up to the
only shaft of light shining into the shop, from a high up small square window. Spinning it in
the light, he gets the feeling he’s seen it before, but is unsure how, where or when. Not wishing
to show the shopkeeper that he’s attracted to the piece in his hands, he puts it back down, and
continues to look around the shop. Eventually, he re-picks up the prism, asks the price, and is
happy to purchase the piece for the equivalent of US$10.
When he gets to his hotel room, his heart is full of excitement. He examines the piece much
more closely, in better light, and notices, on one end, in the corner, some carved words in what
looks like an ancient language that he had studied as an undergraduate. This discovery reminds
him why the red prism looks familiar. It’s one of three prisms, one blue, one green, which, when
held together, make a kaleidoscope that creates coloured patterns on the white desert sands. The
trio of prisms was the first kaleidoscope ever made, and invented by the king of Mongolia who
ruled in 1000BC. The king gave the kaleidoscope as a wedding gift to his third wife. Rumours say
that the 3 prisms hadn’t been together as one ever since the death of the king over 3000 years ago.
Cameron needs to think how to locate the other 2 prisms. Sitting in a café, wondering where
to begin, he sees a holy man walking along the street, and decides to visit the local mosque,
and ask the imam’s advice. He learns of one tribe that is hours south, who, it’s rumoured, are
descended from the ancient king.
Driving through the desert, he thinks it’s the most calming place because of its magnificent
views. As he looks down, he sees dried crumbled rock going past endlessly. There are dunes of
sand of different shapes and sizes in the distance. Without looking up, Cameron feels the white
hot sun burning in the sky. There are no signs of life anywhere, even plants are rare out here.
Although it is magical, he also knows the desert is very dangerous to man. If his jeep breaks
down, there won’t be anyone to help, he’ll just be stranded there, for eternity. The desert takes him
back in time to when the earth was being created. He feels like he’s learning new things about
himself, he can sense that he’s connecting closer to the earth, that he and the earth are made from
the same star dust.
