Feathers in the Snow
Diocesan Boys’ School Secondary Division, Ron Ma, Fiction: Group 3
T
he snow was not expected, nordid the explorers call for it. They knew of the cold weather
in the Gobi Desert, but no one could foretell the snow. The four explorers hurried to set
up their tent, racing against time as the snow fell harsher. The poles refused to fit into
the ground, the tent was tossed from side to side. Clearly, the explorers were not prepared
for this.They managed to build the form of a tent but could do no more as the snow raged above
their heads. They scurried into the tent and sat there in silence. Their faces were as blank as snow.
As night approached, the snow began to calm. The explorers shivered in their tent as they
took out their canned food. Everything in their bags was soaked, even the matches. The freezing
canspierced their trembling hands but the explorers still managed to open it. They sucked in
all that was in the can like primitive beings, regardless of the chills it brought. With a chilled
stomach the four men tried to sleep. The tent grew quiet as they closed their eyes, but none of
them were asleep.
The creaking of the tent poles startled the explorers. The four looked around in worry,
watching the windattack the tent. They heard the creaking again and stretched out their arms,
just in time to catch the collapsing tent. They slid across the rocks and snow, arms still held
up high. Two of them barely found their way out, only to be bashed by the snow. They fought
to stand up with all the strength they had left, and helped the other two out of the tent. They
searched for their bags underneath the tent as the snow piled up on it. They could only pull out
two and had to leave the rest, before they were the ones left under the snow. The foursearched for
a path out but the Gobi was unrecognizable.Snow replaced the once prevalent rocks and blinded
the explorers’ sight. They held on to each other as they trudged through the snow, with no clue of
what might happen to their fragile lives.
Hours passed before the snow calmed down, but to the explorers it felt like days. They were
crawling on their knees with no destination, minds as sore as their bodies. They dared not call
themselves explorers as the snow had wiped out their spirits to the core. There was no place to
hide, there was no place to live. Snow was the only thing that the four men could think of, and it
sent chills running through their flesh. The youngest of the four could bear this thought no more
and collapsed into the snow. The three men, as if expecting the fall, hovered over his cold body in
silence. They gave him a little push but his life had already succumbed to the snow. The three of
them continued on aimlessly, their hearts dragging them to the ground.
Night began to settle and so did the three men. They had found a bare tree amidst the snow,
with branches covered in white. They gripped their bags tightly as they lay their bodies against the
tree. Their backs were either pricked by the rough wood, or stung by the icy snow, but they could
only give in.The wind blew softly across the land, and the three resting men shivered to its beat.
Two of the men had just begun to relax when the panting of the third awoke them. The third
man was walking in a rush, his armsurging the men to leave the tree. The two men started to
wake in confusion, but the howling of the wolvesjolted them. They ran with their weak limbs
hanging, leaving all the noises behind.They did not slow down until the howling was over, but so
was the panting. They turned to see a pack of wolves, grey and haunting, surrounding the third
man. The two men wandered away from the scene, seemingly unfazed by the circumstances, but
